I have decided to shelf the Mansion RTD for now since now that I'm not-sick I'm not in the mood for horror. However, among my circle of friends February is Gurren Lagann month, and even now I find myself being drawn to all things involving giant robots and explosions. February, just 15 days away. If only I had an RTD idea for that ready to go.
Oh wait.
Roll to Pierce the Heavens!
Players are pilots of Ganmen, Humongous Mecha powered by the Fighting Spirit of the pilot. Each Ganmen has special abilities that consume Fighting Spirit- Fighting Spirit is restored in small amounts every time a player rolls a 6, or in larger amounts when they hear a successful Friendship Speech. Pilot Classes include Brawler, a durable close range specialist with regenerative abilities, Boomstick, a ranged class that specializes in high damage and Macross Missile Massacres, and Hero, a class that gives more potent Friendship Speeches and can demoralize the Fighting Spirit of his foes.
Sidenote, who else has done a Humongous Mecha RTD? I'd like to see the rules they used and how it worked out for them.
So yeah, this has been percolating through my brain for... wow, almost 6 months now? Huh. Anyway- Stream of Consciousness Game Design with Monk IV: And Now For Something Completely Different!
-snip-
The setting is TTGL verse, but not Earth, and the antagonists are not LordGenome's Beastmen- no knowledge of TTGL is necessary to participate. The flow of play would be pretty close to Season One, with the whole "fight the four Generals, get to enemy Base, beat Big Bad" setup. Nothing original, but then, it's TTGL- not exactly the most original work in the first place. I've got more thoughts on it than that, but I'll save it for when/if I start a thread, especially since further elaboration would be spoileriffic.
Stats
HP- HP represents the ability of a pilot to roll with the punches, dodge attacks, and generally avoid serious damage. Serious damage is a risk when it gets low, and when it dips into negatives death becomes increasingly likely. Player Ganmen have minor regenerative abilities, and regain 1 HP every turn they don't take damage.
FS- Fighting Spirit, the eagerness of the pilot, the source of the Ganmen's power! Fighting Spirit essentially acts as Mana, and is used to fuel abilities. Players gain 1 FS for every natural 6 they roll, as well as from some abilities and events. Management of FS is one of the principle gameplay mechanics.
Defense- How easy you are to hit in combat.
Status- When you take serious damage, it gets recorded here. This is also where any other buffs and debuffs gets recorded.
Armament- This specifies what weapons a Ganmen has ready, as well as what body part certain weapons/abilities are tied to. Normally, Armament is only altered between missions.
Abilities- Abilities are the special awesome things players can do, most of which consume FS. Players start with one Ability of their choice, one unique Limit Break ability that is expensive but potent, and a self-heal ability. More on all that in the next tab.
Combat
Players can perform one action that requires a roll per turn. Thus, in a turn a player might attack, use certain abilities, or something else entirely. Some abilities do not require a roll, and so can be activated while doing something else (e.g using Disrupting Shot.) Players may attempt to do more than one thing per turn, but they'll suffer penalties to both rolls for trying to hurry. Players with more than one weapon may only attack with one weapon at a time.
When a player attacks, they roll 2d6 + modifiers and compare to the target's Defense. On a hit, the attacker then rolls damage which is applied to the defender's HP. If one of the attack dice rolled is a 6, immediately add -1 to the Critical Damage roll. With every hit, there is a chance for Critical Damage, and a roll is made against the following table. Critical Damage rolls are 2d6 modified by Defense and current HP. If the specified body part already has damage >= roll, increase damage to one category greater than currently suffered.
0 and Lower Critical Core hit. I break out the pretty explosion gif
1-2 Serious Core hit. Lose 5 FS, -4 Future Critical Damage Rolls, 1/6 chance of death
3-4 Serious Body hit. Lose 5 FS, -3 Future Critical Damage Rolls, any Armaments attached disabled.
5-6 Serious Leg hit. Lose 2 FS, -2 Defense, if both legs disabled then attached Armaments are disabled
7-8 Serious Arm hit. Lose 2 FS, -2 Attack, if both arms disabled then attached Armaments are disabled
9-10 Moderate Body hit. Lose 3 FS, -2 Future Critical Damage Rolls, 2/6 chance any Armaments attached disabled.
11-12 Moderate Leg hit. Lose 1 FS, -1 Defense, if both legs disabled then attached Armaments are disabled
13-14 Moderate Arm hit. Lose 1 FS, -1 Attack, if both arms disabled then attached Armaments are disabled
15-16 Light Body hit. Lose 2 FS, -1 Future Critical Damage Rolls, 1/6 chance any Armaments attached disabled.
17-18 Light Leg hit. -1 Defense, if both legs disabled then attached Armaments are disabled
19-20 Light Arm hit. -1 Attack, if both arms disabled then attached Armaments are disabled
21 and up No damage
As described under the Players tab, Abilities are cool things you can do, and Armaments are cool equipment you have. Players start with one weapon of their choice (Melee, Ranged or Artillery) as well as two other A&As from the following list. Armaments require a free body slot to be equipped in, and may be temporarily disabled if that body slot is seriously damaged.
Armaments
Melee: You have a melee weapon of your choice- giant swords (laser or otherwise,) drill gauntlets, razor claws, whatever you like. Melee weapons require you to be up close and personal to use, but provide a +1 bonus to attack and deal 1d6+2 damage. Melee weapons need a free arm or leg slot to be equipped.
Ranged: You have a ranged weapon of your choice- rifles, railguns, energy longbows, whatever. Ranged weapons are quite versatile as they can be used at any distance, providing a +2 bonus to attack and dealing 1d6 damage. Ranged weapons can be equipped on any free body slot.
Artillery: You have a piece of heavy artillery at your disposal- missile launchers, giant cannons, electro-catapults, whatever. Artillery weapons aren't the most accurate things on the planet, but they hit like a truck, dealing 1d6+4 damage. Artillery weapons require a free arm or body slot.
Burst Weapon: You are the center of a storm of damage- a swell of electricity, a swarm of missiles, a blaze of fire, whatever. You launch an attack against all nearby Ganmen and deal 1d6 damage on a hit, ideal for taking care of swarms of smaller enemies. Beware- this attack does not distinguish friend from foe! Burst weapons require a free body or leg slot.
Chameleon Cloak: By expending 1 FS, you can become nearly invisible, providing a +3 bonus to your Defense until the end of next turn. CC can be equipped on any free body slot.
Flight Augmentation: You can fly! Whee! Besides the mobility benefit, you can also spend 1 FS to use your afterburner to speed up your next attack, providing a +2 bonus.
Abilities
Melee Attack: You launch a powerful attack with your melee weapons. By spending 2 FS, you attack with a +3 bonus and deal 2d6+4 damage. You must have a melee weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Melee Drain: Your melee attack drains an opponent of FS. Spend 2 FS and make an attack roll- on a hit, your target loses 1d6 FS in addition to normal damage. You must be in melee range to use this ability, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Melee Pin: You temporarily prevent an opponent from dodging. Spend 1 FS and make an attack roll with a +4 bonus- on a hit, instead of dealing damage you lower the target's defense by 3 for the rest of the turn. You must be in melee range, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Ranged Attack: You launch a powerful attack with your ranged weapons. By spending 2 FS, you attack with a +5 bonus and deal 1d6+7 damage. You must have a ranged weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Crippling Shot: You shoot precisely to exploit a weakness in the enemy's armor. Spend 2 FS and make an attack roll- on a hit, you receive a +4 damage bonus against that target until the end of next turn. You must have a ranged weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Disrupting Shot: You use your accuracy to divert the aim of your enemy's weapons. As part of your normal action, declare you are willing to use this ability. The next time an enemy would hit you or any ally, you spend 1 FS and make an attack with a +4 bonus. If your attack hits, instead of dealing damage the enemy must reroll their attack with a -4 penalty. You must have a ranged weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Artillery Attack: You launch a powerful attack with your ranged weapons. By spending 2 FS, you attack with a +2 bonus and deal 3d6+2 damage. You must have an artillery weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Artillery Barrage: You launch a series of attacks against your foe. By spending 2 FS, you make 3 attacks with no penalty. You must have an artillery weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
EMP Blast: Your attack has been specially modified to disable enemy systems. Spend 1 FS and make an attack with a +1 bonus. If you hit, instead of dealing damage you disable a random armament (and by extension and abilities that require that armament) until the end of next turn. You may forgo the attack bonus in order to target a specific armament. You must have an artillery weapon, and you must provide a name for this special technique.
Spot Repair: You can channel FS to improve your healing abilities and help your allies. For every point of FS spent, you can reduce the severity of a wound by 1 grade and restore 10 HP.
Inspiring Aura: Your presence raises the morale of your allies, powering their Ganmen! Every time you roll a 6, every ally who can see you has a 1/2 chance to gain 1 FS as well.
So yeah, this is happening.
Right now. Give a holler if you see anything horribly imbalanced- we won't be at the giant robot fun times right away since I'll be weeding through applicants in the Gatleos fashion.