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Even though we don't know how Mechs and Starships will be in the new version I made this post so that Paizo could see things from a different side or a better even balance.
I'm not going to request some kind of crazy stuff but, when you guys are designing the gameplay for mechs and Starships, please take into consideration some types of campaigns that were not considered in the first Edition. That is 1 to 1, what I mean by this is one Pilot for one Mech or one Ship.
Why would I request this kind of design?
So that I could play campaigns like a dogfight in space where every player has their own unique starship (like star wars) for mechs I would Say, Evangelion, Gundam, or even Macross.
--- Mechs---
What I mean by this is, at level 1 a player does not have points for a mech of his Tier, and there is no Tier 0 Mech. This means that a campaign that is focused on Mechs should start at Level 2 with Tier 1 Mechs, in the best cases.
I get the design idea that a Party using Mechs can fight more serious threats +3 encounter difficulty (if I'm not mistaken), the mech would probably be out of combat but the characters would be able to finish the fight out of the mech. I also ask you to consider the situation where mechs are the main focus of the campaign and the characters are powerless to fight serious monsters (like Pacific Rim, Evangelion, or even Power Rangers)
---Starships---
For ships is the calculation for the Encounter difficulty, it's strange when working with multiple ships.
---Mech vs Starships---
Since Mechs use the same rules as players, starships are a different thing that will do an incredible amount of damage to mechs and players, would it be possible to make mechs and starships fight on the same scale?
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---Starships---
For ships is the calculation for the Encounter difficulty, it's strange when working with multiple ships.---Mech vs Starships---
Since Mechs use the same rules as players, starships are a different thing that will do an incredible amount of damage to mechs and players, would it be possible to make mechs and starships fight on the same scale?
I think smaller ships the size a party of 4 to 6 can use or smaller should be able to interact with mechs and individuals to some degree. One idea is that ship guns might be too slow to target individuals but could do a lesser amount of area damage simulating the blast effect from the impact of the weapon near PCs or NPCs
You can customize one Mech with 2 or more pilots, pooling everyone's points.
What about Power Armors, which are similar to mechs?
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I would prefer that the starship, vehicles rules, and mech rules all work together. Add in the vehicle chase rules and 4 different mini games is not something that would make me want to jump editions.
Thurston Hillman has made one comment on Starship combat, giving some clues on how it might work in 2e, But it's really early to know how Starship combat will be. Here's the link to the trued his comment is in.
Starship Combat, the pre-fieldtest session zero conversation .
You can customize one Mech with 2 or more pilots, pooling everyone's points.
Well, that's the point of my request. I know you can customize a Mech for 2 pilots or more but the idea here is for a 1-1 campaign. Where each Pilot has its own mech. According to the book that would only be possible by reducing the mech tier by 1, the problem with this rule is that there's no Tier 0 Mech. So for this type of campaign, the party should start level 2.
What about Power Armors, which are similar to mechs?
They are really different both in concept and in mechanics. Power armor is basically an exo skeleton with heavy armor, it works like heavy armor but boots the player's strength. Think of it like Edge of Tomorrow armors. When in combat the armor does work like heavy armor (Providing AC and EAC to the character wearing), you are hit and take damage.
Mechs are giant robots that the player pilot from within like a cockpit, when the Mech it's hit usually they take damage not the pilot.
You can customize one Mech with 2 or more pilots, pooling everyone's points.Well, that's the point of my request. I know you can customize a Mech for 2 pilots or more but the idea here is for a 1-1 campaign. Where each Pilot has its own mech. According to the book that would only be possible by reducing the mech tier by 1, the problem with this rule is that there's no Tier 0 Mech. So for this type of campaign, the party should start level 2.
Alternately, spend level 1 in Mech Pilot School or infiltrating the enemy mech base or scavenging the last few needed parts or carrying out the unplanned rescue of the heiress of a minor mecha-manufacturing company after she gets ambushed right in front of you or whatever it is that gets you your starter mechs in the first place, and then have the rest of the campaign be mech-based after you've done that bit of work to earn it.
I mean, it's a real opportunity to inject some flavor, you know?
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Note that SF1 mechs already have options to 1) combine multiple mechs into a larger mech (Assemble!) and 2) change between a mech and a "normal" vehicle (Transform!).
As far as power armor vs. mechs, they are different and don't overlap. However, you can (as I detailed almost 2 years ago) "stack" multiple layers of armor and mechs: "[T]he maximum layering of armor seems to be: Small character wearing light armor, inside infiltration skin powered armor, then another suit of heavy armor or Medium powered armor (infiltration skin explicitly allows this), inside a Large vehicle that can transform (see sidebar on Tech Revolution page 93) into a Huge mech when not carried in a cargo hold inside a transport frame (Gargantuan) mech. Light armor, infiltration skin (powered armor), heavy or powered armor, transforming Large vehicle/Huge mech, and cargo hold in transport frame mech for 5 different armors."
And then have a mech bay on a starship to travel with your mechs between worlds...
Senior Developer
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Even though we don't know how Mechs and Starships will be in the new version I made this post so that Paizo could see things from a different side or a better even balance.
I'm not going to request some kind of crazy stuff but, when you guys are designing the gameplay for mechs and Starships, please take into consideration some types of campaigns that were not considered in the first Edition. That is 1 to 1, what I mean by this is one Pilot for one Mech or one Ship.
Why would I request this kind of design?
So that I could play campaigns like a dogfight in space where every player has their own unique starship (like star wars) for mechs I would Say, Evangelion, Gundam, or even Macross.
DID SOMEBODY SAY MACROSS?!! *A sparkly pink mech bursts into the room like the koolaid man*
Don't worry, I agree with you and the team has had similar thoughts and discussions. Some of this may be implemented sooner than you think.
My advice is to play Mechageddon! when it releases next May. ;)
Edit for full clarity's sake: you can play Mechageddon! as a squad of mechs (that can transform into starships) with each PC controlling their own mech, or players can team up with groups of 2 or more depending on the mech frames they choose and work together. Hopefully, this will allow each group to play in the style that feels right for them, but we definitely assumed a squad approach when designing encounters.
SWEET, I thought we might get something like this from the hints given before, great to be confirmed Jenny, thanks!!
Tom