The Chains of Command (Inactive)

Game Master Kenneth Kooi


We've survived it all. The Bombardment of Earth... The Second Zentraedi Civil War... The Sharon Apple Incident... The Varuta War...

We've thrived...

In 2010, Humanity faced extinction. The near annihilation of Earth proved that the cradle of Humanity could provide sanctuary no longer. For all the resistance it faced, Bruno J. Global's Megaroad colonization program was a sound plan - for us to survive as a species, we would have to take to the stars.

It is the year 2049 and our first tentative steps into the void are long behind us. From prosperous new worlds like Eden to colonies eking out their existences on the surfaces of barren worlds, the indomitable spirit of Human resilience shines like a beacon which will never be extinguished.

Our journey through the cosmos has not been a lonely one. Many of the Zentraedi, the Protoculture's former soldier caste, have joined us in this endeavor to keep the flames of culture and civilization burning in this universe. There have been others like the Zolans, like us children of the Protoculture, who have embraced our mission to the stars.

And our guardians in the UN Armed Forces, comprised of soldiers of every gender, race and even species, stand a line, shoulder the thankless burden of pushing back the darkness...

- Professor Sugita Taika -
Global - Trailblazing The Cosmos, 2049, Macross Broadcasting Service, Macross 14 Colony Fleet

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The campaign is set on the UNS (UN Spacy) Yorktown, an aging Guantanamo class Escort Carrier and its small escort group operating on the frontier of colonized space, primarily in an anti-piracy role.

The PCs are rookie pilots fresh from an academy rotated into serve a tour of duty in Apollo and Poseidon Squadrons.

The 127th Frontier Patrol Fleet comprises of the following UNS Warships.

UNS Yorktown (CV-316) - Guantanamo Class Escort Carrier
• Apollo Squadron - 12 VF-19A Excalibur Variable Fighters
• Impulse Squadron - 12 VF-19A Excalibur Variable Fighters
• Poseidon Squadron - 12 VA-3M Intruder Variable Bombers
• Oracle Flight - 4 VF-17D Nightmare "Radome" Variable Fighters

UNS Atago (FFG-1335) - Haruna Class Stealth Cruiser

UNS Furious (FFG-812) - Northampton Class Stealth Frigate
UNS Excellent (FFG-1201) - Northampton Class Stealth Frigate
UNS Centaur (FFG-482) - Northampton Class Stealth Frigate

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Streamlined Character Creation Ruleset For The Macross MECHA Conversion.

Step 1: Build a Character:

You have 11 points to divide between to each of the pilot’s four base stats. No stat can be advanced beyond 4 during character creation. The minimum value for a stat is 1.

• Strength- How physically strong the character is and how well he can resist damage.
• Agility- How graceful and dexterous the character is. This stat is used most often in combat outside of a mecha.
• Intelligence- How fast the character’s mind works. This is used for book smarts.
• Will- The character’s determination and social acumen.

In addition you have 10 points to divide between the six character skills. No skill can be advanced beyond 3 during character creation. The minimum value for a skill is 1.

• Mecha Combat – How well the character can fight in a mecha. This covers both movement and making attacks.
• Personal Combat – How well the character can fight outside a mecha. This covers the pilot’s movement and attacks outside of his mecha.
• Social – The character’s ability to interact with others in order to charm, persuade, or anger them.
• Field Ops[/b] – A skill which governs a range of skills from espionage, recon, stealth, breaking and entering and theft.
• Repair – A character’s ability to repair damaged mecha
• Medic – A character’s ability to heal wounded pilots.

Step 2: Choose Your Mecha:

A mecha gives you the starting level for each base Stat and a number of Stat Optimization points you can spend to improve your mecha.

• Weapons- The number of weapons systems the mecha starts with. This stat is always used to determine the Attack linked stat.
• Armor- A measure of the mecha’s resistance to damage. This stat is always used to determine the Defense linked stat.
• Technology- A measure of the sturdiness and efficiency of the mecha’s internal systems. This stat is always paired with another stat to determine Engineering.
• Speed- How fast the mecha moves. This stat is always paired with another stat to determine the Movement linked stat.

Every mecha has 3 Optimization points which can be used to increase the mecha base stats. When spending stat optimization points, it costs 1 point to raise a base stat by 1. The highest a base stat can start at is 4.

Shinsei Industry VF-19A Excalibur
Weapons 2
Armor 2
Technology 2
Speed 2

Weapon Systems
Bifors BMM-24 High-Maneuverability Micro-Missile Cluster (Rng 2)
Howard GU-15 External Gatling Gun Pod (Rng 3)

Northrom Grumman VA-3M Invader
Weapons 3
Armor 3
Technology 1
Speed 1

Weapon Systems
Raytheon/Shinnakasu Sentinal AVM-11R Heavy Missile Launcher (Rng 4)
Raytheon/Shinnakasu Sentinal AVM-11R Heavy Missile Launcher (Rng 4)
Mauler REB-23 Laser Cannons (Rng 1)

Step 3: Link Stats:

Linked stats are determined by taking one of the mecha’s attributes and adding them to one of the pilot’s stats. The mecha stat is always predetermined for each linked stat, but it is up to the player to determine which of his pilot’s stats is linked to which mecha stat.

Attack = Weapons + Pilot’s Stat
Defense = Armor + Pilot’s Stat
Engineering = Technology + Pilot’s Stat
Movement = Speed + Pilot’s Stat

Any of the pilot’s base stats can contribute to a linked stat. How the base stats are linked is completely up to you, however you have to link every one of your pilot’s stats to a mecha stat and you cannot link any base stat more than once.

Step 4: Choose or Apply Mecha Configurations:

Every mecha has two Configurations. Configurations offer mechanical advantages and rules exceptions to the mecha during combat. However, Configurations are more than just a way to do cool things on the battlefield. They also affect who your character is and how he sees the world. Because of the synthesis between pilot and mecha, your choice of Configurations helps define your pilot’s personality.

This means that when you select a Configuration (or when you choose a mecha model with a Configuration built into it), you must also choose one of the Traits associated with that Configuration for your pilot. In other words, the way the mecha is used on the battlefield is a reflection of, or has shaped, the pilot who commands it.

Condensed Configuration List:
Analyzer
The player may spend one Overdrive to give another player 2 dice on their next attack or defense roll.
Analytical/Oblivious

Assassin
Spend 1 Overdrive to deal damage directly to the pilot instead of the mecha
Stealthy/Brutal

Berserker
Spend 1 Overdrive to attack twice with weapons of same type. The attacker rolls separately for each attack. You cannot fire the same weapon in the same turn.
Explosive/Calm

Boomer
Spend 1 Overdrive to simultaneously attack all targets in a sector. The attack roll is made only once, but all targets (enemy and friendly) must roll defense against that number of successes.
Loud/Quiet

Booster
Spend 1 Overdrive, the player may allocate any number of dice from Defense to Movement.
Optimistic/Pessimistic

Brawler
Spend 1 Overdrive to treat any weapon as a range 0 weapon.
Gruff/Delicate

Bulwark
Spend 1 Overdrive to allocate as many dice as desired from Movement to Attack.
Caustic/Supportive

Counterfire
Spend 1 Overdrive to allocate any number of dice from Attack to Defense.
Focused/Scattered

Disruptor
If an attack does damage, spend 1 Overdrive to prevent the mecha from moving on its next turn.
Dynamic/Static

Flanker
Spend 1 Overdrive to shift to the same sector to in any quadrant.
Lumbering/Fast

Heavy Metal
Spend 1 Overdrive to reallocate any number of Movement dice to Defense.
Flighty/Stout

Hot Shot:
Spend 1 Overdrive to allocate as many dice as desired from Defense to Attack.
Cool/Brash

Jammer
Spend 1 overdrive to grant +2 Defense dice to all mecha in the same sector.
Open/Confused

Jackhammer
Spend 1 Overdrive to double the amount of Knockback.
Pushy/Pushover

Prowler
Spend 1 Overdrive so that the mecha cannot be hit with range 1+ weapons.
Obvious/Sneaky

Ripper
Spend 1 Overdrive to cause a successful Attack to inflict two points 2 of damage.
Peaceful/Violent

Scanner
Spend 1 overdrive to negate the effects of Jammers, Prowlers, Flankers, Healers, Brawlers, Snipers and Boomers and Analyzers for all mecha in a target sector. May know all of the weapon types on a mecha.
Oblivious/Curious

Slayer
Spend 1 Overdrive to give a successfully damaged target -1 on its stability roll
Lover/Fighter

Sniper
Spend 1 Overdrive to treat any weapon like a range 4 weapon.
Direct/Indirect

Stalwart
Spend 1 Overdrive to receive +1 to all stability rolls.
Tough/Weak

Stonewall
If an opponent’s attack does damage, spend 1 Overdrive to move a maximum of 1 Movement Point.
Open/Stony

Striker
Spend 1 Overdrive to treat any weapon like a range 3 weapon.
Sharp/Blunt

Supercharged
Spend 1 Overdrive to fire a cooling weapon.
Energetic/Lazy

Transformer
Spend 1 overdrive to swap out this Configuration for any other Configuration.
Flexible/Steadfast

Someone is probably going to come out and ask why you'd need to buy the Transformer configuration when the Variable Fighters/Bombers are so obviously transforming Mecha. My answer to this is that very often, even among the Aces, Macross pilots tend to favor one mode over the other - Michael Blanc (MacF) liked his Battroid. Gamlin Kizaki (Mac7) favored the GERWALK. Isamu Dyson (Mac+) tended towards Fighter mode. Transformer in this case represents that rare spark of natural talent found in gifted individuals to really push the Variable Fighter/Bomber concept to the natural limit like Maximilian Jenius(SDFMac, Mac7)

Step 5: Choose Traits:

Pilots have Traits, which are short, one or two word descriptors that determine how the character should be played. All pilots have exactly four Traits. At this point in the pilot and mecha generation process, you should already have two of them. Now, you can select the other two. Think of adjectives that can describe your character.You can also select from the list of Traits shown above in the Configuration section.

Step 6: Additional Weapon Systems:

If a mecha’s Weapons stat is higher than the number of standard issue weapons for the model, the player may choose additional weapon systems so that the number of weapons on the mecha is equal to its weapons stat.

Weapons List:
Howard PBS-03F Pin-Point Barrier System (Rng 0) (VF-19 Excalibur Only)
Mauler REB-30G Anti-Aircraft Laser Turret (Rng 1) (VF-19 Excalibur Only)
Mauler REB-23 Laser Cannons (Rng 1) (VA-3M Invader Only)
Bifors BMM-24 High-Maneuverability Micro-Missile Cluster (Rng 2)
Howard GU-15 External Gatling Gun Pod (Rng 3) (VF-19 Excalibur Only)
GA-22 60mm Multi-Purpose Gatling Gun Pod (Rng 3) (VA-3M Invader Only)
Raytheon/Shinnakasu Sentinal AVM-11R Heavy Missile Launcher (Rng 4) (VA-3M Invader Only)

You can get a rough idea of how these rules interact HERE. Actually between the modified Character Creation Rules I've banged up here and the Quickstart, you're pretty much good to go on a player end.