Something from my Notes - Reconstruction Era - Stingers

[glitterboy2098]

another bit from my notes for a Reconstruction era sourcebook proposal. The idea of the Stinger, a mecha built by zentraedi using cobbled together parts during the reconstruction period, is one of the concepts from the comics i loved, but felt was not handled well in the comics and novels. so i figured i'd revisit the concept from a standpoint that was a bit more consistent with zentraedi technical abilities and which didn't invalidate the fluff from the New Generation Saga sourcebook saying IMU's were a development of the invid resistance.

what i decided was that instead of full up patchwork mecha, the "stinger" was actually just customization to common zentraedi mecha. since they are mostly a case of weapon swaps or attaching an extra system or two, and other somewhat basic alterations, they aren't really IMU's, but do give the reconstruction era malcontents some extra mecha diversity and would make for interesting encounters.

i never got around to assigning these tables %'s.. i usually do that last after finishing the full write ups so i can tweak the odds to ensure balance.

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Stingers: a primitive form of Improvised Mecha unit, Stingers were the UEDF codename for modified zentreadi battlepods and power armor seen in use by Malcontents. Confined primarily to Standard battlepods and Powered Armor suits, these modifications were a combination of improvisations to bring damaged units back onto the field using available parts, and attempts to improve the combat power of the units through modifications. some Malcontent bands in South America and Asia appear to have become masters of building Stingers, and constructed Stingers for other bands in exchange for supplies and services.

Battlepod table: (Tactical battlepods only.)

*Replaces the Chin machineguns with a pair of VF-1 Valkyrie arms.
*Replaces the antiaircraft laser turret with the Dorsal particle beam cannon from an officers pod.
*Replaces the side thruster systems with arms off an Officers pod
*Fits the body of the pod with scrap armor from other mecha (increases the main body MDC)
*The standard cockpit has been replaced with one for micronized pilots, with room for 5 passengers and cargo.
*The upper Particle Beam canon turrets have been replaced by GU-11 55mm Gunpods.
*Roll twice on this table, rerolling duplicates.
*Roll three times on this table, rerolling duplicates.

Male Powered Armor Table
*The Shoulder Plasma Cannon has been replaced by the Electronic Attack Array of the recon battlepod
*the chest grenade launcher has been replaced by the Reconnaissance and sensor array of the Recon battlepod.
*The Arms of the Suit has been replaced by the arms from the Female Power Armor, including the particle cannons
*A pair of MDS-L-46 "Hailstorm" backpack Missile and thruster packs have been attached to the standard thrusterpack. (Flightspeed increased by by 20% when active, and gains 40 Short Range Missiles. can be jettisoned, but loses boosted flight ability and the additional missiles. packs have sufficient fuel for 24 hours of operation.)
*A second Shoulder Plasma Cannon has been attached on the opposite shoulder.
*a pair of MDS-L-46 Arm missile packs have been attached to the arms of the suit, providing 6 Short Range Missiles.
*Roll twice on this table, rerolling duplicates.
*Roll three times on this table, rerolling duplicates.

Female Powered Armor Table
*The Arms of the Suit have been replaced by the arms from the Male Power Armor.
*A Shoulder Plasma Cannon has been attached on one side of the thrusterpack.
*a pair of MDS-L-46 Arm missile packs have been attached to the arms of the suit, providing 6 Short Range Missiles.
*A pair of MDS-L-46 "Hailstorm" backpack Missile and thruster packs have been attached to the standard thrusterpack. (Flightspeed increased by by 20% when active, and gains 40 Short Range Missiles. can be jettisoned, but loses boosted flight ability. pack has sufficent fuel for 24 hours of operation.)
*the Chest grenade launchers have been replaced by 23mm autocannons off battlepods.
*Roll twice on this table, rerolling duplicates.
*Roll three times on this table, rerolling duplicates.

[Jefffar]

Basically guidance on IMU suggestions gets us the Stinger.

[glitterboy2098]

Basically guidance on IMU suggestions gets us the Stinger.

more or less. i figured that while zentraedi were trained for basic repair work, which could lend itself to jury rigging fairly easily, designing a whole new mecha (which is what most IMU's basically are) would be a bit outside their area of capability. and the number of zents trained in full engineering by humanity, then turning malcontent, was probably fairly low.

but simple weapon/system swaps ought to be fairly straight forward. i limited it to Tactical battle pods and the PA's because basic battle pods are easy to find, and thus would be great fodder for experimenting with different options. while the PA's are the 'aces' of the malcontents, and more likely to survive a battle in damaged form rather than destroyed outright, and would thus see a lot more effort being put into keeping them functional.. which also gives plenty of opportunities to customize.

by making it a random roll table, you can emphasize the patchwork nature of Stingers.. there is no standard refit, just the results of lots of independent teams using whatever bits they have on hand.

using a D8 and the Battle pod table as it is, for example, rolling for a squad of 6 pods..
2 with the micronian cockpit
1 with extra armor
1 with GU-11's
1 with valkyrie arms and officer pod arms
1 with the valkyrie arms


that would make for an interesting encounter for a player group, but since the modifications are fairly straight forward it should not need too much extra work to ensure it isn't too challenging, and it means the GM doesn't have to do a huge amount of extra prep work, the way the full blown IMU rules would. (which basically requires the GM to design a whole new mecha each time)

[Arnie100]

Interesting stuff

[Jefffar]

Assuming the PCs represent the UEDF forces, minimalist Stingers make the most sense.

Really detailed/strange Stingers should be the purview of PCs and major NPCs. ("Wait, their leader is flying a GPA with full missile load out and the particle cannons of an Excalibur? I retire.")

[glitterboy2098]

pretty much. the kind of extensive custom builds seen in the old malcontent uprisings comics really fit better as "boss mecha" for a campaign.. something you give a major named NPC or a unit commander to make them stand out more. (the double and triple modded PA from these tables would also work as a "boss mecha" as well.. imagine an FPA with the FAST packs.. not only extra missiles, but even faster than normal? ouch)

i've seen fan attempts to create systems to allow creation of the comic's highly individualized designs.. and they fall into two camps. so generic that they are basically worthless because the visuals are just fluff, or so long and detailed that they are useless because making a single mecha takes hours. i figured this simple table approach not only make a sufficient break with the Comics version that HG wouldn't worry too much, and it would be easier to use and fit the setting better. the lack of variety was a minor concern, but i figured that once a modification was shown to be effective, it would be copied often.

though i was thinking at the time i'd need to remove one of the FPA entries.. where the MPA's shoulder gun is fitted. it is a nice idea, and seems a logical mod. but it also makes the suit possibly too close visually speaking to the Queadluun-Rhea suits from Macross Frontier. though now that it is a moot point and i'll probably be sticking these up on my website after awhile, i'll probably leave it in. might even try to brainstorm a few additional ideas for all three tables, for a bit of extra variety.

[taalismn]

Assuming the PCs represent the UEDF forces, minimalist Stingers make the most sense.

Really detailed/strange Stingers should be the purview of PCs and major NPCs. ("Wait, their leader is flying a GPA with full missile load out and the particle cannons of an Excalibur? I retire.")

"Anybody that can make THAT combination work effectively together AND fly? Not messing with 'em until I get WAAAYYY better odds on my side."

[glitterboy2098]

actually there were a few combo's i considered for the FPA that i rejected for balance reasons. like mounting a pair of Phalanx missile arms on instead of the shoulder SRM arrays.. size wise they are about perfect, and you are trading 84 oversized mini-missiles for 44 Long Range Missiles, possibly Reflex warhead armed..


that sort of thing is also why i wanted to limit the options a bit more. you just have to look at the copy-paste abuse on this guy's Deviantart to understand why i wish the IMU rules from New Generation sourcebook had a few more actual specific limits and rules, and why i wanted to contain the damage from introducing customized mecha into the Reconstruction era..



(also, anyone want to take a look at my GMU thread? that one i could really use some feedback on)

[ShadowLogan]

so i figured i'd revisit the concept from a standpoint that was a bit more consistent with zentraedi technical abilities and which didn't invalidate the fluff from the New Generation Saga sourcebook saying IMU's were a development of the invid resistance.

Stingers are IMUs though. And the NG SB does establish the Zentreadi where the first to use IMUs (pg40 "As far as anyone knows, the first IMUs (Improvised Mecha Units) were put to use by the Zentraedi warlord, Khyrong during the reconstruction period."). IMUs though were not a common practice until the Invid occupation because "There just weren't that many broken down mecha parts lying around unclaimed". Though IMHO, that likely is in reference to bandits, state level actors likely had the market at capacity.

designing a whole new mecha (which is what most IMU's basically are)

Yeap. And IIRC I've said as much in the past, they are a way to introduce "new" hardware to keep HG happy (though other options exist).

actually there were a few combo's i considered for the FPA that i rejected for balance reasons. like mounting a pair of Phalanx missile arms on instead of the shoulder SRM arrays.. size wise they are about perfect, and you are trading 84 oversized mini-missiles for 44 Long Range Missiles, possibly Reflex warhead armed..

Well you don't have to actually give them a full payload LRMs or the ability to target with them beyond SRM (or even MRM) range.

Other options might be to allow the FPA (or others) to use:
-UEDF MDS-L-12 missile launcher (Tomahawk/Spartan)
-UEDF RDS-2 missile launcher (Tomahawk)
-UEDF GBP-1S Missile Launchers locations (chest, FA, shoulder, leg, hip), though likely rare given its use, and you don't have to use all of them
-GU-11 or Zentreadi Rifles in place of shoulder cannon (MPA) or top weapons (Regult, the lasers or missile launchers)
-VF-1/AH-68 (or other suitable aircraft) wings as additional weapon stations that have been attached (I'd limit it to Glaugs, Regults, and maybe MPAs)
-the Regult Missile Pods might make an interesting addition to the PAs and Glaug

[jaymz]

This is what I came up with but it needs updating...

http://worldofjaymz.wikia.com/wiki/IMU_ ... patability

[glitterboy2098]

This is what I came up with but it needs updating...

http://worldofjaymz.wikia.com/wiki/IMU_ ... patability

that list of mecha size categories is pretty close to what i'd planned for my site eventually.. i get tired of people forgetting the major size differences between the mecha. heck, in the new Generation book they use in an example of the 'half and half' type a UEDF destroid upper body connected to the hips and legs of an ASC battloid.. which would be hilarious, because an ASC battloid is only about the size of a a UEDF Destroid's leg. (As you can see here)

though personally i wasn't going to worry about 'official and unofficial'.. i'd rather leave that aspect to the GM's. though i was going to address which limbs you can get away with using parts from a larger or smaller size catagory for. (you could probably go a size catagory lower for arms for example, or a catagory larger for legs, with assembly penalties to represent the extra rebuilding needed, for example. might look freaky though if you have Logan arms stuck onto a hovertank, or battlepod legs on a UEDF destroid, but i don't see why you couldn't if you are willing to put in a lot more work.)

[taalismn]

[

that list of mecha size categories is pretty close to what i'd planned for my site eventually.. i get tired of people forgetting the major size differences between the mecha. heck, in the new Generation book they use in an example of the 'half and half' type a UEDF destroid upper body connected to the hips and legs of an ASC battloid.. which would be hilarious, because an ASC battloid is only about the size of a a UEDF Destroid's leg. (As you can see here))

"I don't understand....the Dark Destroyer keeps falling on its face! It should be able to sprint into battle!"
"...you've been hanging around Engineer Captain BS Johnson too long, you know?"