Robotech II: the Sentinels, Pathfinder Edition

Game Master Elton

Since players want to play some of the exotic alien races, the Campaign begins after the SDF-3 arrives in the Fantoma System. Your peaceful mission to the Robotech Masters has turned into a war for survival against the vengeful Invid!


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and are pathfinder feats 1 point each?

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:

thanks. also, looking at the cost of some of these attributes, having 7 points doesnt seem like much! is this because we are not paying these points for our class abilities?

the way it is set up kinda reminds me of Mutants and Masterminds a bit

Right. That is right.

Well, A lot of people told me in order to fix BESM d20, I have to get rid of levels. I can kill levels, but I need to play it full on before I attempt to fix it.


i see, i think. how do you, as a GM, decide how many points PCs start with?

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:
and are pathfinder feats 1 point each?

Yes, but be careful which you pick. Not all of them are available.


GM Elton wrote:
Tenro wrote:
and are pathfinder feats 1 point each?
Yes, but be careful which you pick. Not all of them are available.

yeah i was just thinking of the one that gives me extra points to put into my Astral Suit (aegis class feature)

furthermore, would you be keen on letting me use some of the Attributes from the game for my astral suit (paid for with customization points of course). I suppose they would be something like Dependent defect Attributes.

i was thinking that he uses his astral suit to get around (fly, etc) and could survive space while using it

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:
i see, i think. how do you, as a GM, decide how many points PCs start with?

originally, all BESM d20 PCs started with 40 points at 1st through 4th levels, I think. When I caculated the points between starting with Pathfinder points and BESM d20 points, I thought it would be better to use Pathfinder point buy for abilities and use 7 points to pick out your attributes and feats.

Thats 32 points total.

every 4 levels, though, the points go up by ten in BESMd20.

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:
GM Elton wrote:
Tenro wrote:
and are pathfinder feats 1 point each?
Yes, but be careful which you pick. Not all of them are available.

yeah i was just thinking of the one that gives me extra points to put into my Astral Suit (aegis class feature)

furthermore, would you be keen on letting me use some of the Attributes from the game for my astral suit (paid for with customization points of course). I suppose they would be something like Dependent defect Attributes.

i was thinking that he uses his astral suit to get around (fly, etc) and could survive space while using it

The closest power a psion has to Hyperflight is astral caravan. That might be alright to get than Hyperflight.


i see. taking the fact that i have never played the system with a grain of salt, that seems like it is relatively low-powered (given the costs of some things being as much as 5/rank)

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:
i see. taking the fact that i have never played the system with a grain of salt, that seems like it is relatively low-powered (given the costs of some things being as much as 5/rank)

Oh man, you have no idea how rediculously high powered it can get. If I were running Tenchi Muyo instead of this you would be surprised at how high powered you can be. That's by having access to all the skills and attributes to make a character.


would a garudan be affiliated with a military outfit or mercenary company of some sort?

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:
would a garudan be affiliated with a military outfit or mercenary company of some sort?

That's not impossible. The Supervision Army certainly counts (that's the army of the Tirolian Republic before the Masters took over and made their Bioroids). There's the remaining Disciples of Zor (i.e. Ci'Vans), but the Zentraedi they command is under their control (using Culture) and they do not even make contact with the Robotech Expeditionary Force as far as I know. But this is our story, we can run with the Disciples of Zor. And there are many more mercenary groups.

We can get you a bioroid to pilot, or we can design a mecha for you as long as it's not transformable (well, with the exception of the Disciples of Zor).


GM Elton wrote:
Tenro wrote:
i see. taking the fact that i have never played the system with a grain of salt, that seems like it is relatively low-powered (given the costs of some things being as much as 5/rank)

Oh man, you have no idea how rediculously high powered it can get. If I were running Tenchi Muyo instead of this you would be surprised at how high powered you can be. That's by having access to all the skills and attributes to make a character.

well for instance, in mutants and masterminds you get like 15 points per level, and the abilities cost a similar amount (most are 1-3 per rank, a few 4-6 per rank, particularly powerful or versatile ones even more). so with that in mind, i am seeing 40-50 points as pretty low (especially given that anime characters tend to be over the top). But, i havent seen the anime in question, so perhaps i am getting stuck on what i know (which isnt what we are playing). a low number of points would tend to approach a level of realism more consistent with playing normal folks in a high-tech world. in my mind at least.

to give you an idea of my anime experience, i tend to watch the kinds that are short-lived. Claymore, Berzerk, Outlaw Star, Code Geas (the closest i have watched to this, i believe)


reading the wiki, bioroids sound a lot like the astral suit of the aegis class except for the "invulnerability/weak point" dynamic of bioroids.

what are the Disciples of Zor about? there's no wiki entry for them, but i read about Zor himself.

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:

reading the wiki, bioroids sound a lot like the astral suit of the aegis class except for the "invulnerability/weak point" dynamic of bioroids.

what are the Disciples of Zor about? there's no wiki entry for them, but i read about Zor himself.

In the Robotech Saga, the Masters are going to go through with their plan of invading Earth. They mention the Disciples of Zor (a mixture of Ci'vans and Zentraedi), who they fought against when Zor found out that the Robotech Masters were power hungry . . . well, you know, politicians.

I use the reimagined mythology from another website with my own changes. Such as the Invid Flower of Live is actually a strain of Ayahausca. This is their story:

----------------------------------------------------

Disciples of Zor

While I like the Marduk I don't think their name should be spelled the same as a Babylonian deity. Its a pretty simple fix though by dropping the D. Maruk flows better to my ears. Thought about going with Mar'uk but that seemed a little too stuck-up to me so I didn't use it. Enjoying most of RRG's pondering and fanon about Robotech, the Maruk are a convenient way of bringing back the Ci'Vonians. In RRG's fanon Ci'Va, a former colony of Tirol, was the last world to stand up to the Zorrlev'dra Gisterae, Robotech Masters. Many Ci'Vonians, inhabitants of Ci'Va, were members of the Zorret'sa, Disciples of Zor. The Disciples were an underground movement Zor founded to undermine and, one day, overthrow the corrupt and decadent rule of the Masters.

The Zorret'sa started gaining momentum when the Masters were tricked into letting Zor move to Ci'Va. By the time the Masters realized their mistake and recalled Zor, he had already shared much of his philosophy with the Ci'Vonians and gathered a large following. His followers began opposing the Robotech Masters so they called in the Zentraedi. This was a mistake as the Ci'Vonians didn't try to fight them like everyone had before. As per Zor's plans they spoke with them instead and soon the entire fleet defected to their side. Zor had realized the chink in the Zentraedi armor, culture. Outraged, the Masters finally sent the bulk of their Zentraedi with orders to shoot first and never ask questions.

Billions were killed as the Zentraedi bombardment boiled away the oceans and skies of Ci'Va. But hundreds of millions, and over a billion Zentraedi, managed to escape before the end taking refuge in remote bases or aboard the ships of their giant allies. Lead by Zor's colleague, Ingues, the Disciples began striking back. The Tirolian-Ci'Vonian War would last almost two hundred years before the Disciples miscalculated and attacked Tirol directly. Their assault failed and the Disciples were dealt a crippling blow. Never again would the Disciples of Zor be a threat to Tirol. However their raids, and the Zentraedi hunt for them, would continue for another two centuries before the Zorrlev'dra Kemirae (Robotech Empire) finally collapsed.

After the Disciples' attempt to rescue Zor ended with his death, their leader was given the secret to pollinating Floranim. He decided to avenge the death of his friend and all the suffering caused by the Robotech Masters by concentrating the Disciples into one force and settling a new world which would become the heart of a stronger nation than the Robotech Masters could ever imagine. He shaped the Zorret'sa into a new society, the Maruk. His reborn people would find ways to keep their Zentraedi from turning on them as they had turned on the Zorrlev'dra Gisterae. It would take decades before they were ready but Ingues would not rest until he had his revenge.

------------------------------

https://sites.google.com/site/mymentalmeanderings/robotech/maruk#TOC-Discip les-of-Zor


i think i need to reread that with the wiki in another tab hahaha

i cant keep track of all the different races and politics

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:

i think i need to reread that with the wiki in another tab hahaha

i cant keep track of all the different races and politics

It's a complex backstory to support one love triangle (which is central to the Macross portion), one interracial couple, and 2 interspecies couples. along with a story having Alien invasions, a war story, and cool transforming Mecha.

Macek said that he originally planned to have everything revolve around the idol singing star, but the Sentinels and the other two series revolve around that one central triangle. Lolita be damned, this is why Robotech (Macross) is the best love story of the 20th Century.


would you be keen on letting me use some of the Attributes from the game for my astral suit (paid for with customization points of course). I suppose they would be something like Dependent defect Attributes.


or perhaps allow a Customization that can be purchased with the astral suit's allotted points that gives some attribute points to spend on attributes while the suit is on (that would be the easiest way i could think of).

Silver Crusade

You want to build your Aegis suit with BESM attributes? Okay, I think I can allow that.


yeah i was thinking something along the lines of a customization that provides attribute points.

not sure how many it should provide though, since the astral suit has relatively few points, especially as compared to the cost of some ranks in the attributes.

Example: the Quickened Attacks customization for astral suits, costing 3 customization points, allows 1 extra attack when full attacking. the Extra Attacks attribute, on the other hand, provides a similar benefit at the cost of 8 points.

so i was thinking that perhaps spending customization point would grant 3-4 attribute points to spend, but have a limit on it like that customization can only be taken once per two Aegis levels.

just a rough idea, wondering what you think.

Silver Crusade

Now, how many Aegis Levels are we looking at where an "astral suit" is customized? normally?


aegis start with the astral suit and 3 customization points. they use these points to buy abilities for the suit, and can change the abilities purchased by resting 8 hrs. the number of customization points they get increases slowly until they have 26pts at level 20.

the most expensive customizations cost 4 points (and customizations are similar to eidolon abilities, purchased in a similar manner from a similar amount of points, and are often similar {extra arms, size increase, +STR, etc})

at level 3 they also get an ability where they can "reconfigure" a number of customization points equal to their INT mod once a day (plus one more time per day for every 2 levels after that) for the cost of a power point

and 4th level gets them the ability to spend power points to get temporary customizations for short periods of time (rounds = to INT mod).

i hope this answered your question

Silver Crusade

Sounds like an Item, or Own A Mecha (really, its personal gear).

You can add defects to the Item to get more points, and you can add the Summonable attribute to it. Just thinking out loud since it's so late and I want to try and convert the VF-XX, but I have to go out and do more pictures tomorrow. Finals, you know. :) I put way too much stress on myself, really. :)

(Actually, what stresses me out is that MACROSS II: Sourcebook One has all the fluff pieces about the VF-XX and it stresses me out that there is a sick guy out there that is litigious and in charge of an RPG company to boot. It's cruel on RPG fans everywhere. Running two campaigns and setting up 2 more is just a breeze. )

An Aegis Suit equals 1 rank of Item, and that should give you a number of CP to customize the Item. It's not that impossible to extend it around a mecha. It will make the mecha stronger, probably increases the Mecha's Armor (on a ratio of 1:5), or it's Defense on a ratio of 2:1.

You design your Aegis Suit like normal, okay? Add in the Summonable Attribute, because it can be manifested out of the Ether, but the summonable mechanics still works. The amount of points you use is divided by 2, and that is how much your suit costs in BESM Character Points.

1.5 doesn't seem right, don't you think?

Item Cost
To determine the Character Point cost of the Item, total the Point cost of all Attributes (modified by Variables and Restrictions) and Defects built into the Item and divide by two (round down; minimum of 0 Points). For example, if a character has 33 Points of Items, their cost is 16 Character Points. Note that this makes Items that are described with only one Feature Attribute (such as a camera) effectively free.

See the Items chapter (page 162) for more detailed examples and descriptions of Items.

But use common sense for your Aegis Astral Suit. As far as I know, an Aegis' Astral Suit is designed to protect you, the wearer, in tough combat situations.

ALTHOUGH!

It's pretty late, and if you are going to use the Aegis suit's RAW, I would say a ratio of 3:1. 3 CP for every 1 customization point.


yeah the Aegis class is primarily a "tanky" front line fighter with some quirks for flavor and versatility.

initially with the idea i was thinking of a garudan who has the astral suit (when you form it, you can choose either skin (no armor value) armor (same as chain) or juggernaut (same as halfplate) and when he is out of a mecha he would use the regular armor (or sometimes skin if it were for a ball or other social function) and when he was in a mecha he would use it in the juggernaut mode and hopefully shore up his mecha's defenses.

how big are the mech suits, in DnD size terms? huge? large? to get an astral suit bigger than medium costs customization points (and has a minimum level) unless there were some kind of thing in his mecha that amplified his astral suit while in the mecha. otherwise it might just protect him and the vital areas of the mecha immediately surrounding him.

Silver Crusade

Tenro wrote:

yeah the Aegis class is primarily a "tanky" front line fighter with some quirks for flavor and versatility.

initially with the idea i was thinking of a garudan who has the astral suit (when you form it, you can choose either skin (no armor value) armor (same as chain) or juggernaut (same as halfplate) and when he is out of a mecha he would use the regular armor (or sometimes skin if it were for a ball or other social function) and when he was in a mecha he would use it in the juggernaut mode and hopefully shore up his mecha's defenses.

how big are the mech suits, in DnD size terms? huge? large? to get an astral suit bigger than medium costs customization points (and has a minimum level) unless there were some kind of thing in his mecha that amplified his astral suit while in the mecha. otherwise it might just protect him and the vital areas of the mecha immediately surrounding him.

The Typical VF-1X Enhanced Valkyrie is built to stand as tall as a Frost Giant. The exact specifications from the Mecha Manual says: Battroid Mode: height 12.68 meters; width 7.3 meters; length 4.0 meters. Huge in Pathfinder/D&D terms.

A Robotech Masters' Bioroid is smaller because it stands as tall as the ATACS Hovertank, and as tall as a Hill Giant or Verbeeg Giant. So you're looking at Large.

On the other side, a Sukoi SV-51 is about twice as tall as the VF-1X Enhanced Valkyrie, so you are looking at Gargantuan there.

Heights can be looked at from the Macross Mecha Manual: http://www.macross2.net/m3/m3-index.htm

The smallest Mecha in the Robotech canon is the Cyclone which tops off at Medium height in MOSPEADA mode.


need another person!


I'm a person!

I know robotech, but would need a bit with the system. What are you looking for?

Silver Crusade

Another earthling. :) Perferably one that is willing to fly a Valkyrie II.


GM Elton is running the show here, but as far as i understand he is looking for another human PC to join in the fun with the existing PC, which will move the plot along so that my PC can later join.

There are (as far as i understand) some rules changes, so i would say familiarize yourself with the recruitment and discussion threads and pitch an idea to GM Elton.


So... to be clear, you are looking for someone who is able to pilot a Valkyrie? Or are you looking for an actual Mecha pilot class?

I had thought of a tech genius who had been working on a project for an UN Spacy (or whoever) Mecha customization/upgrade which was scrapped or sabotaged because it was a pet project of someone demoted and replaced by a rival. (maybe with influence from a manufacturer who would have a product line become obsolete if the project had come to fruition)
He might not have the natural reflexes of an ace pilot, but his background would give him a leg up in pilot training should he choose to enlist.

Silver Crusade

It doesn't matter at the moment, right now. :)

A Valkyrie II isn't as sophisticated as the Cyclones or the Alphas (strange as that may seem, since the Valkyrie II includes a lot of Zentraedi technology and is much more beautiful than the Alpha fighters), so you don't have to worry about the Bio-Mechanical Engineer restrictions -- as of yet.


OK... started a profile. I will work on it today bit by bit.


I'm ready for a lookover. I haven't added a Valkyrie... do I just cut and paste what you have for the VF-2SS?

Silver Crusade

Leonard "Elray" Raines wrote:
I'm ready for a lookover. I haven't added a Valkyrie... do I just cut and paste what you have for the VF-2SS?

Yes.

And you do add any combat skills to your attack bonus. The skills work like the weapon focus feat. Looks great, by the way. :)

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