For out of character chat and questions.

Hi folks!  Happy to be taking part in a Lancer game.  I'm playing Werner Steinn, my call sign is Fossil.  Scientist background (Geology to be specific!) and  I plan on bringing the lasers, fire, and explosions to the team once we get some License Levels.

Heya. I'm similarly excited to have a Lancer game as I think it's been the best part of four years since my last on here.

Alis is one of a handful of surviving flash-clones from an extralegal supersoldier project shut down by the New Division, so naturally she's quite a bit less 'super' than her creators desired. She goes by the call sign Ivory owed to her distinctive pale skin, that being one of the more benign side-effects of her origin.

I'm not totally sure about long term plans right now but I think I'm probably leaning towards something in the melee and/or CQB space.

Hey there all

Rolling Thunder here with the heavy armor/suppression-fire side of things (leaning towards the Drake when we start getting us some LLs, to give you an idea). Mechanical/repair/sabotage sub skills

He has burned-out facial nerves as well from some unspecified event, making his face a permanently neutral mask of flesh... And yet he lives - and feels - underneath...


Hey GM, do we know each other at the start of this? Are we an existing unit? Mercs maybe? Freelance or corporate?

Yes, you most likely would know each other. You guys are a Lancer unit attached to the Union ship Rio Grande, as your first assignment after your training was completed. You could have met on the ship, met while training, or some other point in relation to that.

Sunder is a bit of an odd one, she wasn't in training with the others she came to the ship by some other path but doesn't talk about herself much.  Indeed she doesn't interact with other people physically, her only presence on the ship is that of an AR projection or the occasional remote drone.

Her role is that of a hacker so that doesn't impact her mission profile in any negative way, and in some ways she had more control over the ship's systems than the crew.

What an interesting set of misfits we make.  I think I'm finished designing Fossil and his starter Everest, but I was wondering just how much of our character mechanics we should share.

Mostly to keep down unintended overlap in skills and roles.

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 7):

You can share as much or as little as you are comfortable with. I don’t want to intrude too much on how you all establish your character’s dynamics in game.

It's better to have a team of specialists who know what each squaddie brings, I think.  So I'll reveal what I have for Fossil's build this far.

Skill Triggers are Blow Something Up, Invent or Create, Get a Hold of Something, and Investigate.  Talents are Walking Armory, Grease Monkey, and Nuclear Cavalier.  Mech Skills are currently rank 2 Hull, and Engineering will be the focus as LL increases.

My starter Everest is equipped with a Mortar, Assault Rifle, and Heavy Melee; though I will move away from melee as LL increases.  I'm bringing deployable cover, smoke grenades, and personalizations because it is important that my mech, Unsupported Hypothesis, look like an Allosaurus.

Hi (again) everyone. Some backstage talk led me to deciding to take a different approach, so it's out with the Varn and in with the Vost.

---

Maya “Sardine” Vost is a former space pirate who accidentally downloaded a SecCom-era piloting manual directly into her brain while exploring a long-forgotten facility on a dead world. Some sustained misfortune later she's found herself saved not-inconsiderable incarceration by virtue of that latent piloting talent, and she's fighting to retain that limited freedom more than for any ideal or cause. Helps that it's actually pretty fun work.

Still going with the same general archetype, only this time I've got far stronger sense of how and why this character leans into CQB and melee weapons. Very high chance of going with one of Blackbeard, Tortuga or Caliban early on.

And to follow up on Werner's post:

• Maya's triggers are Assault, Show Off, Take Someone Out, and Word on the Street.
• Her talents are Combined Arms, Duelist and Vanguard, also starting with 2 Hull for the not-die factor.
• Her Everest, Skeleton Key, is armed with a Shotgun, Assault Rifle and Heavy Charged Blade. It has a Custom Paint Job and Personalisations, Jump Jets and a Projected Shield.

I am still working out some of the details, but what seems to be staying true is a bit of a tech/Ewar focus

Triggers: Hack or Fix, Investigate, Take Control, Take Someone Out
Talents: Drone Commander, Hacker, Spotter

I am new to this particular system and could probably switch out the Stay Cool, or Engineer for something if anyone has any good suggestions that stack or fill gaps in the party somewhere.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:40, Wed 04 Oct 2023.

Something to keep in mind if you're new to the system is that each time you level up you're allowed to reallocate all points from one of your Talents to any other Talent, so if you pick something and find it doesn't work for you then it's very straightforward to swap it out for something else before too long. Or you can pick something at low levels that's useful when you're getting started and drop it once you're able to specialise later on.

I can't speak to what weapons you're considering, but in terms of broadly useful stuff:

• Stable, Steady from Crack Shot is an easy to-hit bonus if you're taking an Assault Rifle.
• Covering Fire from Heavy Gunner is nice for limiting/punishing movement if you want an HMG or Thermal Lance.
• Field Commander from Leader is super useful. It's a great way to make sure the rest of the party loves you, especially once you hit Leader 2 and 3 down the line.
• Integrated Chaff Launchers from Skirmisher is a nice bit of extra defense while you reposition or take non-aggressive action.
• Particularlize from Spotter is very useful if you're going to be hanging out in the backlines with a long range buddy.

I'd probably advise against taking Engineer at LL0 as the Everest frame already has three mounts (so an extra integrated mount has a lot less value) and you haven't got any of the Talents or fancy tools to really take advantage of your prototype's flexible profile. It's by no means bad, but you're essentially spending a talent on a +2 damage weapon rather than some kind of unique utility.

Fair enough, I really was thinking the higher level engineering things would be handy, but even those it seems like I can only use them on myself so it isn't as good as I had thought.

Consider me a spotter now.

Hey all,

It looks like everyone has more or less got their characters ready to go, so I will post the adventure intro in the Operation: SOLSTICE RAIN thread.

If you feel that you still need to tweak your characters a bit, please don't worry about posting right away - you can finish up, then introduce your character once you are done.

I am really excited to start playing with you all, and I really hope that everyone enjoys the game!

For me it's :

Hack or Fix, Blow Something Up, Stay Cool and Charm
Siege Specialist, Heavy Gunner and Combined Arms for Talents

Resigned Optimism has Hull 1, Systems 1
and is armed with Heavy machine gun (Underhand handle like the Drake. Folds back on an articulated back-gimble),
Twin Missile launchers (one above each shoulder)
and Charged blade (a plasma panabas in a leather back sheath (similar to Tortuga's shotgun back sheath))

Stable structure
Jump jets
Deployable cover (Heavy shield plates on his left arm and shoulder when undeployed, similar to plates on Tortuga; Used as shields when Engaged, explaining his soft cover melee bonus from Combined Arms)

For on the ground: Heavy hardsuit, shotgun, heavy A/C (from portable welder and punch/crush from 3rd arm). Mag-clamps,  3rd arm, portable printer


Not married to Blow Something Up. If that's one of Werner's main things, I can go with Apply Fist to Face instead?

In fact, let's do that

Oh damn, I’m so sorry, I completely skipped over your character in this. I apologize, I was going off of character sheets and completely blanked on the team comp conversation here.

Stray thought, GM: Do you think it'd make sense to set all the PCs to either their real names or call signs? Right now we've got a mix of both.

I've been under the assumption that Sunder doesn't have another name, myself.  You're playing an NHP, right?

In reply to GM (msg # 16):

Null perspiration chummer (Oops, wrong system :))

Still getting my character together

EDIT: Stray thought: do we want two portable covers on the same team? (I mean we might)
This message was last edited by the player at 11:59, Thu 05 Oct 2023.

I could swap out my portable cover for something more offensive, since you're taking a more defensive design.  Maybe frag grenades or turrets.

I swapped out my deployable cover for Hex Charges.  Just a little bit more boom for the squad.

In reply to Maya Vost (msg # 17):

I'll leave it for you guys to decide - I don't have a preference either way.

I picked an Omnihook as part of my pilot gear, but we're getting one as part of the mission.  Don't think we'll need multiple, so I'm swapping it out.  I'll bring a Corrective and instead, in case a VIP gets shot.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Just 'cause I feel like explaining, Maya's call sign is Sardine because "tin can" is one of the many derogatory nicknames for the single-use transports/boarding torpedoes commonly used by small-time pirates in raids on other ships. She's essentially a knock-off marine with a history of being crammed into an ugly metal box and slammed straight into the hull of a target vessel.

Here I thought it was a reference to a mech's cockpit being so tight it made you feel like a tiny fish in a can.

It's more fun to know that you are the payload in ship-to-ship ordnance!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:26, Mon 09 Oct 2023.

By the way, who has that Omnihook they gave us before this drop?  Do we need to dig it out of the wreckage?

Would having a 4th piece of gear be a problem to carry?  Or is it more of a cost limitation?  In either case I can probably make it work if nobody else wants it.

Would make sense for Sunder to have it I think

Pretty sure the 3 pieces of Pilot Gear is a game balance limitation more than anything else.  Since the Omnihook was given extra as part of our current mission, we just need to select who out of the squad is the Radio Operator.

That's what I was thinking - add it on extra to a pilot's gear. It's just in a separate compartment on the mech or on someone's person.

Not totally sure if I'll be in a position to post before tomorrow. As such if y'all would like to pass me over in order to keep things moving forward I'd be totally okay with that.

Sunder is well suited to the 'radio operator' type role, so I will add the mission item omnihook to my list, if we need to redistribute it later we can do that.

I'm thinking we'll likely need to tweak the Lancer turn sequence if we want it to play well in forum-form?

At the very least "Next player available to post goes" (instead of nominating a single next player)?

Or we might go all the way to the classic D&D "Post your intended actions in any order and GM will arrange in a round-result post"? It's less reactive, sure, but maximises posting-availability from everybody...

What do you guys think? Any (better) options I missed?

Hmm, I didn't think about that until now.  The standard turn sequence is a lot of pressure on the GM; to post one enemy action after each player action.

In every game I've run on RPoL I've always had all the players take their turns followed by all the enemies with theirs.  Lancer isn't designed to work like that, what with Reactions and 1/turn abilities.

Well, Rolling Thunder has gone first already.  I'm willing to go second, after the first enemy action.  Should they do anything other than stand down I know what my action will be.  Hint --> Mortar.

Unless we figure a smoother way to take to Lancer combat.

This sounds good, if everyone agrees we can go with this.

While resolving enemy turns between each player turn like standard Lancer combat rules?

Yeah, pretty much. I'm able to post pretty regularly through the day, so even if things speed up, I should still be able to keep posting when I need to.

I see you've all been busy!

My one other experience playing Lancer on here before had us taking that approach and leaving the floor open to whoever showed up to post next (unless it was claimed in the OOC first). It's not ideal but it definitely speeds things up compared to trying to follow the regular flow of the rules.

I covered a lot of info during the Barrage on my turn.  Tell me if something needs to be explained, but here's the rundown:

4 Kinetic Damage to GL (before Armor)
7 Energy Damage to SG (before Armor) + 1 AP Energy Damage to SG
1 AP Energy Damage to AR2

Unless I'm way off the track in estimating their evasion.

I think you shorted yourself 1 point of damage Thunder; two rockets hit Nex (one critical) so you should have dealt 3d3+2 drop the lowest.  But you only added 3d3+1.

Sunder - firing the cyclone pulse rifle and stabilizing are both full actions. Even with an overcharge, you unfortunately still need to pick one, as overcharging only gets you an additional quick action.

Wacky, just go with shooting, I will do other stuff later.  Where does it say they are full actions on the website?  Or is that something I need to research in the book?

Would I be right in thinking that AR1 has a Lock On?

As nearly as I can tell lock on is both quick, and automatic, so yes.  If there is some kind of hidden roll for that I would love to know how to find such a thing.

Lock On is automatic, yup.

As to your prior question(s), I'm not sure what material you've got access to right now but attacking with a superheavy weapon requires a Barrage action (so a full action), and reloading weapons is done through the Stabilize action which is also a full action - at least until you start getting your hands on systems that change that. If you haven't got the rulebook at hand then stuff like that is sort of covered in the Action Economy section of Comp/Con's Compendium, although the interface there isn't exactly the most intuitive. Clicking on the actions there brings up their full text.

I have the rulebook, but I don't see anywhere that it talks about action cost differences for weapons, it just seems like a big list of traits with some vague relationship to flavor text.

Comp/Con has an active mode where you can go through the turn sequences and keep track of the different actions you are able to take. On the bar where you go to the mech hangar, there is a button that looks like an on/off switch. Pressing that and then pressing "start mission" will put you in.

The Scan tech action should give you deeper information about these guys if you think it's worth a quick action on your turn.

Sunder, in my copy of the Core Rulebook, Page 76 is a quick combat reference that describes Barrage as a Full Action where you can fire two weapons or a single Superheavy weapon.  And it also describes Stabilize as a full action.

Page 71 goes into further detail covering what actions are Full Actions.

On Page 104 the Core Rulebook covers Weapon Tags, where it says that the Superheavy weapon tag means that it requires two mounts and can only be fired with the Barrage action.  Also, Superheavy weapons cannot Overwatch.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:06, Thu 12 Oct 2023.

GM, if Nex moves away I'm going to use my reaction to Overwatch an attack with my Heavy Melee.  Do you want me to roll the attack preemptively or will you roll it on my behalf during the Nex's turn should it come up?

Speaking of Overwatch, Maya's Skeleton Key has a shotgun, right?  That means a reaction shot at AR2 once it moved closer than 3 hexes while going into melee.

I might be wrong about this one...was overwatch triggered by moving into the threat range, or by starting a move from within the threat range?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:14, Thu 12 Oct 2023.

The latter until you hit Vanguard 3, at which point it's triggered by any kind of movement within your Threat whatsoever.

That's right.  I remember teaming with an overwatch specialist before, they must have had Vanguard 3.

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 52):

I’ll roll the attack if it is triggered.

What are the rules for firing into Engagement (can't seem to find any, unless you yourself are Engaged)?

It's just standard shooting, yeah. No targeting restrictions, penalties for shooting into a melee or chance of hitting a random target or whatever.

You sure you want to do that now, Sunder?

That'll give the mechs in opposition one more chance to damage us before Thunder or Sardine can do some damage...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:38, Thu 12 Oct 2023.

Then they should post faster?  That is the whole point behind turn order by post rate isn't it?

Uh... don't quite know what to say to that?

The "post if you're available" system is meant to avoid undue waiting for players who are not available to post at that time. To my mind, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to post when you can, especially if and when, tactically, in game, that may disadvantage your own side?

i.e. I'm thinking it's not, or at least shouldn't be, a competition. We're all in this together

That said, if you disagree that another character taking a shot is more beneficial than Sunder Stabilizing, then that's alright too

Different strokes for different folks and all that

Hey all - I might be a bit slow to post for the next couple of days, as I am going to be out of town for the weekend. I will keep up as much as I can, but I wanted to let you all know ahead of time just in case.

Thanks for letting us know :)

Is it okay if I take Overwatch against AR2 as it's my turn next anyway and it dying to Overwatch wouldn't cause any sequence-breaking problems (with it missing everything), or are we going with the idea that I didn't declare intent so it's not on the table - for flow's sake in any other scenario?

Totally okay with not getting the extra shot, but this feels like a situation where I can spend that available reaction without interrupting things up.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Fri 13 Oct 2023.

Yes, you can do overwatch, don’t sweat it.

I ended up not using Overwatch as I realised that with two available targets it'd require another round of back-and-forth before resolving my turn.

---

In other news, the Siren's Song supplement just went live and is available to stick on your Comp/Con. It includes the new Empakaai variant frame for Blackbeard and Orator talent, the latter letting you play combat diplomat.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:37, Fri 13 Oct 2023.

Maya was the last to take an action for Round 2.  Does that mean Round 3 will open with an enemy taking the first turn?

Yup. Means players always go first while they're outnumbered, but once things start to even out that isn't always the case.

Fair's fair, I suppose.  I was planning on taking  my action last anyway.  If these guys get mopped up before my turn, I don't take any burn from the nanite cloud.

Oh, I should specify that if Nex wants to move away, I still intend to use my reaction to Overwatch with Heavy Melee.

Unless they take up Thunder on his offer of surrender.

Heading out to the field for two weeks starting today (I'm on a 2-2 schedule), so expect slower posting from me during that time; those 12h work-days tend to fill up a lot of your free time :)

Have fun in the field!  I always have.

Anyway, setting your reactor to self-destruct is a quick action, but an improvised melee attack is a  Full Action.  So I'm nearly positive this mech isn't set to go nuclear.  That said I don't intend to take my turn yet, but should I roll my Overwatch Reaction for the movement of Nex?

He could have Overcharged though? (I don't think Heat is his biggest concern at the moment :) ) Or have the Initiative core trait?

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 72):

Yes, go ahead on the opportunity attack.

Would destroying a mech before it's self destruct timer runs out stop it from going boom, or just make it go boom sooner?

No reason why it would make it explode right away, but whether or not destroying the machine stops the meltdown is up to the GM more than anything else.  At least, I can't find any rules to cover stopping a mech's self-destruct.

Bah, well my Overwatch missed anyway.

I figure it's just the Nexus now so all those who haven't acted can post?

Correct me if I'm wrong

Yeah, pretty much. I'm going to run it as everyone having a chance to react how they wish (I'm going to assume that any combination of attacks on the guy will destroy the mech, as he's on about 5 hp). After that, combat will end and we can keep going in the adventure.

One benefit of shooting up the mech before he can explode himself is that it keeps him from chasing after anyone.  Like a regular Bob-omb.

Between Sunder's shot and Maya's, I think we got him pretty good?

Uh, so... Is there going to be a GM post or something? (Feels a bit weird to just assume the guy went Kablooi...)

Sorry for not posting in a while, there was some personal stuff going on that took up most of my time. I should be able to post more frequently now.

Well, you did say to expect 2-3 posts a week.  More than that is just gravy.  Besides, being GM is always harder than people think.

True that :)

Happy to game at whatever pace

Do our mech's have insignia marking us as Union?  Wouldn't do to let these guys think we're Vestan.  Unless they're Vestan I suppose.

If they're LSA, we can win some diplomacy points by helping them out, because they seem to be stranded.  I can only think of 2 reasons they would be trying to fix up a civilian bus.

Either they need it to transport their squad quickly, or they are trying to extract civilians.

I assume you guys have some kind of Union markings, but I’ll leave the specifics up to you.

Speaking of encounters with the LSA, the upcoming one has the option to be run either as an extended skill challenge or as a combat encounter. Do you all have a preference either way? Both would be fights in story, but I wanted to check if you guys had any preference rules-wise in this case.

Just went through a short battle, so… Skill Checks for a change? (With a healthy di”ose of RP, I’m hoping?)

I'm interested in having the encounter play out as an extended skill challenge.  Combat is common and expected so going the other way sounds fun.

Sorry I've gone so quiet lately. My brain has been ... let's say uncooperative.

Trying to get myself caught up, and hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things tomorrow.

Glad you're back, Maya. We were missing some spice :)


@anybody: For my own education, can blink space transmissions be detected/intercepted? (I'm guessing you'd need your own omnihook to do something like that?)

Well, the Omnihook connects you to the Omninet, which to my understanding is a paracausal space magic version of the internet.  Allowing communications throughout the universe, it seems like it would have to be pretty secure.  I'd posit that to intercept a transmission you would have to be able to pinpoint where it is being sent from, or where it is being received.

It's definitely not the same as a radio transmission that anyone with a receiver might pick up.

Hey all, I wanted to clarify that the artillery mech is about a kilometer away from the group. RT was able to see it due to perching on top of a building.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:16, Fri 27 Oct 2023.

No answer to Fossil's hail then? (IC post 79)

Because the party has split, I will run the bus encounter and the artillery encounter separately from each other, starting with the bus (I'm assuming it will occur during RT and Sardine's travel time). This will also allow RT and Sardine to return if things go wrong.

The bus encounter will be run as a group skill challenge with Sunder and Fossil.

It is split into three sections:

1. Repair the bus.

2. Scout a safe route ahead.

3. Provide an escort.

For each of these, please put your roll and a description of what your character is doing to complete the task. For each step to be successful, half or more of the party must succeed their roll, and for the whole encounter to be successful, 2/3 steps need to succeed.

I will intersperse posts with the results of your rolls and any complications that may occur.

I was wondering how we were going to manage a split team.  This works out.  One question though; is there any kind of circumstantial bonus having the Grease Monkey talent would give me towards trying to repair this vehicle?

No, but if you have a skill trigger that could be applied here you could use that.

For my own mental image, are the soldiers wearing the local equivalent of hardsuits? Something else?

It's my understanding that squads don't receive any kind of armor except as a special feature; and even then it isn't more than adding 1 armor to the unit.  They're described as individually having 1 HP, so I just see them as soldiers in space-age Kevlar with rifles.

Yeah, that's more or less it. Think of them as wearing something between SW scout trooper armour and a modern soldier's uniform.

Ah, I see it now, Thanks :)

Still don't know what those Vestans are doing with them all though. There's a story there I'd wager

Narrative combat as a skill challenge definitely opens up your options.  I think I like it.

It's putting *a lot* of weight on just a couple of dice rolls though....

(Although that sort of depends how the adventure is built/how the GM runs it too. If it's got a Failure = "You succeed, but a sacrifice/complication is needed"-mentality, Dungeon World style, then I can see it working just fine; singing even :) )

Question: does my Pilot Gear ( In this case Thermite Charges) restock when I use the Grease Monkey talent?  Or does Pilot Gear even get used up in the first place?

I think you would get your thermite charges back, even though they are pilot gear.

Swell!  I'll mark those up with my HEX and smoke charges.

Are we going to deploy at the same time, or get there fashionably late and deploy on the second or third round after RT and Maya have engaged?

I’m thinking that RT and Maya will deploy first, and then you and Sunder will deploy in the second round.

That seems a bit early, considering?

Unless we figure Thunder and Sardine took a long time carefully sneaking up to strike distance of the AA mech?

That could work

I figure Sunder and I mopped up that ambush quick enough, and the soldiers told us about a shortcut to get to the fight.  And like you pointed out, you're sneaking and we're rushing.

Very cool intro by the way <Thumbs up> :)

Although thinking about it, a train yard near a big river makes sense; for that inter-modal operability.

Need to sneak a Barbarossa next.  They'll never see it coming!

Can I just check what's supposed to happen next?

Am I supposed to be making a concurrent attack with RT, waiting for RT's action to be resolved (to see if Rainmaker lives) and then acting, or waiting until after the next NPC turn as normal?

In this case, could you wait and see what happens to Rainmaker, then take your action? I haven't run the calculation yet, but I think RT may have one-shotted him, and I don't want you to waste your action on an enemy that is already dead.

Edit: I missed Rainmaker having the Lightning Reflexes trait when I replied here. Sorry RT.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:25, Tue 07 Nov 2023.

Sure, no problem.

10% chance man... Cool scene though :)

I'm very happy to go lower down the turn order seeing as my Exemplar's Mark is wasted if I act before anyone puts a shot on Rainmaker (and misses).

Ah, and I was just about to offer letting you two act first, since you're already engaged up close.  He has that high-rolling Lightning Reflexes so I'm loath to run into melee with Rainmaker.  Though would Exemplar's Mark force him to roll twice?

Here's a plan: Say I activate my Everest's Power Up.  I could Boost, Initiative Boost, Free Action Power Up Boost, then Skirmish Heavy Melee followed by an Overcharge for another Skirmish with Heavy Melee.  He can't luck his way out of that many Reflex Rolls.

Other option would be to move up and just take a few potshots with my Assault Rifle.

I suppose I could charge any one of the other enemies instead of Rainmaker.  Thrash some of the normal guys with a bit of Dino Melee action.

Thoughts?

I'm thinking we need to take advantage of that designator AND that mark while we can? Let me try something


@GM: Does Rainmaker have something that negates the -1d6 when he's Engaged? if not, I'm thinking maybe that should be at -1d6 since he fired it while Engaged? (Might make a difference)

His first action was to Lock On.

Sorry, I skimmed what you said and completely missed the point. My bad.

Slight tangent: it wouldn't have any difference whatsoever but I'm pretty sure his attack against me should still have been at +1 Difficulty as I had Soft Cover (Combined Arms 1) on top of the Engaged penalty.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:39, Tue 07 Nov 2023.

I think his missiles might be Seeking? (At least that's what I get from the description)

Re RT's move, I think I got the sequence right, but any combination of 8 spaces that gets the job done is good enough in my book. Adjust as needed :)
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Tue 07 Nov 2023.

The Bombardment Reserve doesn't have an attack roll, or even a save.  It just does a bunch of damage to the poor saps within the effected area.

Does it?

OK, I'll amend my post

In reply to Rolling Thunder (msg # 122):

The missiles gained Seeking due to the Lock On, but you are right about the difficulty from being engaged - I missed that, my bad. I'll roll for the difficulty and see if that changes whether you get hit or not.

14:43, Today: GM rolled 4 using 1d6.  Engaged difficulty

Looks like the missiles missed you, I'll edit the post.

Edit: The missiles have Reliable 2 base, so you still take a couple of damage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:55, Tue 07 Nov 2023.

Just to clear up a possible point of confusion:

That was only relevant against Rainmaker's attacks as he was in Engagement range of me at the time. As soon as he created clearance I stopped benefiting from that talent's Soft Cover.

Did Thunder consume the Exemplar's Mark on his turn?  It gets triggered on a miss, but it doesn't look like his shot triggered it.

Quite right: he hit on the first try so the Mark is still there!

(Good catch!)

Good to know, might come in handy on my turn.  One more question: how much damage can these rail cars take before they are destroyed?  For example, if one was caught in the blast of my mortar, would it be out of the way for a shot from my rifle?

Each has 10HP. You couldn't one-shot it, but a couple hits would take one out.

A good exemple, I think, of a general tactical principle in Lancer (and some other games too)

Everything else being equal, it's usually a good idea to:

Shoot the Greatest Threat

• Either the most dangerous foe and/or
• An enemy that *hasn't activated* yet
  If you kill it now, before it can act, the enemy gets less actions this turn
  Every kill therefore removes some of the enemy's greatest resource: Actions

Here the Nexus had already acted, so shooting at the LMG, Sword or Rainmaker had the potential to be most beneficial

(Unless you could only shoot at the Nexus of course? I don't think you posted your loadout, so I can't tell for sure...)

Kinda related to that last post, but who (on the NPC side) is yet to act this round?

Rainmaker and the Monowire sword mech have yet to activate this round.

Also, I wanted to let you all know that I might be posting a bit slower than usual over the next couple of days, as I’m getting my wisdom teeth out. I’ll get posting again as soon as I can.

Oof, that's totally understandable; best of luck with that. And thanks for the info.

(Werner you're still very welcome to act before me if you get there first. I wasn't asking that because I'll be posting at all imminently).
This message was last edited by the player at 03:18, Thu 09 Nov 2023.

I have to say, that long series of low rolls has me reconsidering the mortar entirely.  -1 accuracy doesn't seem so bad, until you see only 3 attack rolls out of 10 score above 7.  Maybe I'll swap it for the RPG when we get a Full-Repair and deal with the Loading instead.

Good luck with your Wisdom teeth!  I remember mine being an ordeal, to say the least.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:25, Thu 09 Nov 2023.

Digital dice are always a bit on the finicky side.  That is part of why I went with a reliable weapon even if it doesn't have quite as good action economy against multiple smaller targets.

That's why my second gun is the Reliable Assault Rifle.  The pros for the Mortar are its long range, blast area, and Arcing trait.  But all those points are moot if it can't land a hit.

Jeez, y'all put the fear up them so hard I didn't even get to act that round (not complaining!).

At a glance I'm happy to forgo those Exotic options if other people have things they want. I don't particularly need either of the guns and 3SP is fairly steep for the other options.

That Adjutant looks sweet, though I don't know if I can afford 3SP with my build right now either...

What are you all thinking in terms of LLs?

I'm personally of two minds

• Could go with one level of Drake for that Main Assault Cannon in one hand and the HMG in the other (talk about volume of fire!). That would be the Classic route
  
• OR go for a level of Black Witch for the Ferrous Lash (skinned as a grav-gun arm, Iskander-style :)). Lots of versatility there + prone debuts a plenty, but a little off my planned beaten path...

Thoughts/suggestions?

Either way it's going to be CQB-Trained for talents <Thumbs up!>

I've already got mine good-as locked in. Sent the changes by the GM earlier.

Short version is that I'm going Tortuga 1 (shocker!) for the Deck-Sweeper and rearranging my Talents for Combined Arms 3/Vanguard 1. Big shotty and more ways to gain accuracy/mitigate difficulty.

Still a bit undecided what I'd actually want to do after that. Tortuga is the Obviously Correct™ frame for this character but there are so many other fun options in the close-range murder-machine space even just from IPS-N, and that's before getting into things like going full Danger Close with Viceroy or eating pain for breakfast as Balor. Too many nice things to choose between :(

---

I'm a little biased but Black Witch is definitely in contention for my favourite frame. Ferrous Lash is just fantastic.

Don't forget that you could take a level in Black Witch now and then swap it out for something else at LL2 if you want to unlock a different frame. You're in no way locking yourself into any kind of build with this first pick.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:47, Fri 10 Nov 2023.

I started down the License path to HORUS Goblin myself, I have added a few more Tech Attack options so hopefully we will have time to make use of them.

There are other great hacker/spotter mech's than the goblin.  I only bring it up because my brother went full in on the goblin frame when I played with him, but was unprepared for its fragility.  As soon as we fought enemies who had Reliable attacks, he spent his turns Hiding.  Really cut in to his ability to lend support.

For my licenses, I've planned what I'll do up to LL 6.  First go Sherman 2 for the frame + lasers, then Saladin 1 for Colony Missiles + Force Field, and finally Tokugawa 3 in order to make friends with Lucifer.  Then he and I can Burn the world together.

I like the Autocannon for you Thunder.  Put two of them on your Everest since it's a main mount, then spin them up and now you can do Reliable damage for 6 on a barrage.  Volume of Fire is your tagline after all.  Of course, now you're managing all that heat, but hey, I'm a Nuclear Cavalier!

Maya, have you considered the Genghis Heavy CQC Flamer, Krakatoa?  So much close range destruction there.

Looking at the exotic equipment, I know right away that I want those Advanced Pattern C Smart charges.  A grenade that also Locks On?  Sign me up.

I have (and there's a horrifying Plasma Thrower Balor I want to run someday) but I don't think it's really meat-and-potatoes enough for Maya at this early stage of her development. She sees big shotgun and wants big shotgun.

There is no argument I can possibly make against that statement.

My understanding is that each license level unlocks gear that you can use on any frame, and or a new frame to put gear on, but there is no other way to get that unique gear.  It may be that I never actually use the Goblin itself and just use the gear on other frames.

I also have no trouble playing a fragile character that stays out of line of sight while still providing important support.

That's true, you don't have to be a Goblin to use its unlocked techs.  You could put them on a Metalmark and do a weird hacker-ninja thing if you wanted.  It's all up to your preferred playstyle; and even if you don't like what you get your licenses can always change later.

In reply to Sunder (msg # 141):

If you want a frame that’s more techy, you do have access to the Cholomungma as well as the Everest. It focuses on tech attack, so combining it with what you got from the Goblin license could lead to some shenanigans. Its core power could especially come in handy, with the new invade options from Goblin.

I considered that, but it doesn't exist on the website and the goblin will be unlocked soon enough so I figured I would just skip it.

That frame was just added to the Comp Con application recently.  You'll have to go to Manage Content and install the free content packs.

It's also written up in the character creation thread here if that's more convenient.

Don't feel you have to use it if you'd rather not, but it does give you some more hack-centric tools for now if that's something you'd like to lean into.

Hey all, when you have finished up with your leveling, could you please let me know? I don't want to start the next section of the adventure before you all have finished up that and any downtime stuff you'd like to do.

I wasn't expecting a goddamn Nat 1 but I had a distinct feeling that roll was going to go badly XD

Really wish Get A Damn Drink wasn't so polarised. You can mess up the roll and still say you had a good time, but it's one of the few Downtime Activities where you straight up lose if it doesn't go your way rather than getting nothing or a (minor) success at a notable cost.

Oh boy.

I'm going to assume that you find what can't be replaced via printing in the base's lost-and-found, because you are right, that is a bit polarized.

As for the question on how Downtime actions will be done, I figure this time will be a single downtime action. Depending on how long other downtimes are, I'll let each PC do more based on that.

Sorry, I think I mustn't have made myself terribly clear there.

What I meant was is there going to be any RP element to Downtime Actions (whatever form that might take) or will we just be making rolls and rationalising out what they amount to out-of-character?

No problem either way, I just wanted to get a better sense of how you were approaching them and if you needed anything else from me at this time.

---

I'm totally fine with the fluff side of losing out on Get A Damn Drink (especially with this specific character), but it's definitely a big gamble mechanically when the 'worst' outcome of Gather Information is totally consequence-free, time invested aside, and it and Get Connected both allow you to get results even on a botched roll.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:46, Fri 10 Nov 2023.

RP-wise, I think I'll have them run in a similar way to the group checks -  make a roll, describe what you're doing (and in this case, the results based off of the roll).

Never imagined getting a drink with Maya to be so eventful!

I have implemented the license increase as well as I can figure, I am ready to continue at any time but don't feel like you need to rush on my account.

I think I'm finished with my License update as well.  Grabbed Sherman 1, placed a rank into Engineering, and did some re-modelling of my mech.  My Unsupported Hypothesis lost the smoke grenades but gained the Smart Grenades.  Then I swapped out the Mortar for a Sol-Pattern Laser.  Need that Heat 1 to assist my Nuclear Cavalier shenanigans!

By the way, I am absolutely equipping the Pattern-C Advanced Charges.  We have 3 pieces of exotic equipment for the squad, right?  It might be good for someone to take that Predator Nexus gun if they don't mind changing out a Main Mount.  In case we come across more invisible baddies in the future.

Having seen that it has Accurate I'm certainly not opposed to the idea if nobody else wants it (and we have spare picks). Reliable on the Assault Rifle is nice, but seeing as chaining hits is a big part of my build at-present* it'd definitely suit me to up the consistency on landing my opening volley.

*Using Combined Arms 3 for bonus accuracy through hot-swapping.

None of the exotic gear works for me, so you three can feel free to each take one, or shuffle them around as needed.

Sloooowly catching up (I'm back in the field for the week, by the way)

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 142):

Thought about that. I can build with and/or around the heat builup, sure, but the Slowed, plus the Quick to spin/re-spin...

Thinking about it, I see Thunder as more of a charge-forward tank right now, rather than as a stationary gun emplacement. *Inexorable* is a nice word there. That'll likely change when he can get the big frames next LL (although I'll probably never be a big fan of the Drake's core power: your big show-off moment is that you sit down? :) ), but for right now... let's go crazy: Black Witch it is! :)

We're likely heading for more cqb-type battles, I'm thinking, close to the city center, so Thunder will also swap his Panabas for a shotgun, skinned as quick grav punches and crushing grips from his new grav arm :)

(I'll also try to see if he can get that exotic AI onboard too, although that'll likely mean dropping his Stable Systems, which I find myself strangely reluctant to do. It fits so well with his Heavy-style...)

Working on his sheet!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:04, Sun 12 Nov 2023.

Please bear in mind as we move forward that Ferrous Lash grants you the ability to throw me at people :3c

Now you have me thinking up story-reasonable excuses to play mech dodgeball...

In reply to Maya Vost (msg # 162):

So noted :D

Sheet done, ready for review. Couldn't get the AI in (had forgotten the Lash was a system, not a weapon... ah well. Managed to keep the Stable System by boosting Systems though.)

Tomorrow: Down Time actions!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:24, Sun 12 Nov 2023.

I saw the picture of her mech that Sunder placed in her description; so I've been messing with an AI image generator to see if I can get it to make cool robot pictures of our squad.  Can we get a Thread to post robot pictures?

Will do!

Edit: Thread is good to go.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:50, Sun 12 Nov 2023.

Perfect!  Mech pictures are up.  You cannot imagine how many I generated just to get those 9 good ones.  AI makes really weird things sometimes.  Lots of times.

That is why they made the process of generating images free, assuming you tell the AI which pictures are 'wrong' that is part of it's learning process.

I really like RT's first one --although it's missing the twin missile racks :)

And the last one for Fossil is the coolest, with the first one for Sunder a close second (very mys-te-rious)

Nice.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Mon 13 Nov 2023.

Can we Help on a Downtime Roll? Maya having company during her Get-A-Damn-Drink adventure might lead to a better outcome (or maybe the exact same outcome but with different people involved :D ).

What do you think GM? Maybe add all the triggers we can justify to Maya's base roll and see where that goes? Something else?

I'm genuinely 100% okay with Maya not being 100% okay and getting into a fight with someone or just getting herself kicked out because she's trying to drink her way out of a bad state of mind.

Also given that my roll was a 1 before modifiers I think you'd be pretty hard-pressed to convert that into a success XD

---

Also belated thanks for the mech pics, Werner. I think mine maybe came out a little too generic, although the second's perfectly sound. Kinda surprised you didn't end up with some horrifying skele-bot instead.

I've been doing my own experimentation off-and-on to try and get a different pic for Maya (which is actually in my profile now), so believe me when I say I'm very aware of how much work it can take to get something useable. I think one of the funniest/most bizarre I've seen was one where one of her legs was made up of like ... three different legs from the knee down.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:12, Mon 13 Nov 2023.

In reply to Rolling Thunder (msg # 170):

I'll rule that you can help on downtime actions, but it would use up one of yours. Whether you choose to do so or not I will leave up to those involved in the action.

Do we get more than one downtime action?

In reply to Rolling Thunder (msg # 170):

You could just Get a Damn Drink alongside Maya; as your own Downtime action.  You make friends, and she gets in a fight with them!  Classic.

Posted two more robots.  Maya's skeleton horror mech and something with missile pods for RT.  It was surprisingly hard to get the program to do anything resembling missile pods.

Oh wow. Maybe pushing things a little too far, but honestly that's pretty damn amazing visual.

I've been having a bit of a go at making my own without a massive deal of success. The fundamental problem I've been having is that getting it to do something with a skeletal paintjob rather than being a big ol' robot skeleton is more than a little challenging. Don't really think what I'm working with's up to the task, that or I just have no idea what terms to set for it.

In reply to Sunder (msg # 173):

In this downtime, no. I would let players perform more downtime actions in longer downtimes, but because this is one night,  I am limiting it to one.

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 174):

Alright, let's go with that then :)

RT Rolled an 11 Get A Damn Drink + 2 Convince/Charm + 4 Stay Cool and/or + 2 Apply Fist to Face as needed
19:38, Today: Rolling Thunder rolled 19 using 1d20+2+4+2.  Get a Damn Drink (Convince/Charm, Stay Cool and/or Apply Fist to Face as needed).

Um, so how about LOOSE A useful item or piece of information and GAIN A good reputation?

<Looks at the latest RT pic> Now we're talking! Me like :D

Say, who are the important people at FOB Saber?  Unless it was already mentioned, because then I was totally paying attention at the time.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:33, Tue 14 Nov 2023.

The important people at FOB Saber are Staff Sgt. Garcia and Vonna, plus Rio and Lieutenant Kim, who are communicating with the base through an omninet link.

My jaw is actually really sore rn because I have a tendency to subconsciously act out lines and expressions as I'm iterating them and I've been stuck on angry for a lot of today XD

Me it's my breathing. People who don't know look at me funny until I explain :)

The only reaction games ever get out of me OOC is laughter, which can be just as out of place, but is at least easier to explain.  Particularly with meme culture being so common now all I have to do is point at or gesture with my phone and they go back to ignoring me.

I'm mostly just grinning as I type.  If anyone asks, they get robot pictures.  Though my brother loves Lancer so he likes to know how the squad is faring.

His favorite mechs are the Drake and the Tortuga.  So you two have a fan.

Aww, that's always nice.

I feel like I'm probably not going Tortuga in the long run (or possibly even at all beyond LL1) but we'll see. Feels like mentally I'm leaning somewhere more aggro.

---

Slight bit of awkwardness with that last post: RT and myself weren't at the bar. Our conversation was supposed to be taking place immediately after we'd parted ways with the other two.

Uh oh.  For some reason I had the impression that a few hours had passed and you two were already having your drink.  Hmm, let me see if I can edit some things so the scene makes more sense.

Obviously I can't speak for Roly but I'd assume we'd be okay accommodating you and just retconning in that change (?). Probably much easier to say this conversation's happening later on than for you to explain why Werner's done an about-face and caught back up with the pair.

Edit: Just for the record, while I'm about atm I'm not going to be posting soon (partially due to having to take this into account and have a rethink) so if you do find yourself coming up with some ideas to change up your post then please feel free to implement them.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:41, Wed 15 Nov 2023.

Yeah, that sounds easier to me too.  I think I jumped the gun on having Werner exit the scene right away and missing all the dialogue.

Uh, oops? Should have read OOC before, I guess...

... Although I figure we can just say Maya and RT did [something else] before starting to walk towards the bar so the timelines fit? A game of pick-up basketball or equivalent with the other squaddies in the mech hangar? or chewing the fat/play-by-play combat analysis with a couple of their sempais/fellow riders on the way out? Something like that
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Thu 16 Nov 2023.

Feels like I'm on an absolute rollercoaster here when it comes to locking in why Maya botched her Downtime roll in-universe XD

It's not a bad roll.  It's an opportunity for making things interesting!

That's one great thing about Lancer.  The narrative is specifically malleable.  Like the narrative cartwheels we all just threw that scene into with misplaced dialogue.

I mean ... I get what you're saying, but if I go into a place hoping to gather information/make contacts and the dice say I end up losing two of my property/dignity/memory for no gain I think I'm entitled to call it a bad roll.

Can definitely get fun and interesting times out of it, but still not exactly what I was hoping to see.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:16, Fri 17 Nov 2023.

Oh I never said fun.  I think most of the fun comes from being the outside observer to an interesting roll!

Hadn't really clicked when I first read through the Downtime section, but I think that's right. If you want specific information: Gather Information; if you want specific gear/contact: Scrounge, Get Connected, Get Creative, etc. Get a Damn Drink seems deliberately *designed* to be the wild card, jump-in with both eyes closed, happen what may and let's make a cool story out of it choice...

It's not a bug, you see, it's a 'Feature' :D

Kind of cool design-choice, actually :)

Sorry for the delay there. I've been super-knackered today and my brain's been stuck on buffering any time I've tried to string more than a few words together.

We're mostly just roleplaying narratively right now.  What if we were to open a separate thread for RP?  A place to take our time with inter-character interactions while the primary thread continues the main story?

Funny story: I actually made a PM thread for myself, RT and the GM way back on late Monday/early Tuesday where I raised my concerns about the possibility of our one-on-one conversation slowing down the game and asked whether it might be a good idea to fork it off if things headed that way. Was back in there on Friday expressing my worry that things had pivoted away from their original direction and that now it wasn't at all clear to me how and when we might be wrapping things up. Very aware that Sunder (and earlier you) may have been feeling sidelined through all this and how that was a real problem.

I'd absolutely like to vote for whatever keeps the main thrust of the game moving along. Happy to get back in the saddle.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:06, Sun 19 Nov 2023.

Speaking of that PM discussion, we'd concluded we'd be fading to black fairly soon anyway, to go into something like a GM-driven summary of our Downtime roll results? Kind of surprised Maya didn't call for it at the door just now, honestly, but now seems like a good enough point for that to me?

(Except for one thing. Extra post coming up on that shortly)


I kind of disagree with that, at least on principle. For me, the story IS the main thrust of the game, whether we tell it with guns, fists or feelings?

I don't know that you can be side-lined from RPing if you don't want to be - there's a whole base/world out there to roleplay with if you want to, not to mention each other... So are we saying we don't want to roleplay? (That's a real question: do we want a 100% tactical game? That's a valid choice too)

Personally, I've found that having a mix of tactical battles and RP segments tends to make me most happy in the long run, but your mileage may vary of course...

What's everybody's feelings on this? What do you want out of this game? (I'm thinking of Sunder in particular here, since Maya was mostly worried about having you (and Werner) on the side-lines?)

I am thinking of fading to black with the bar scene, and then resuming the story in the morning, but I want to make sure everyone gets some chance to RP. I can do that now, but I wanted to make sure that everyone was ok with it.

As for what I want out of the game, I prefer the mix of combat and RP, and would like to stick with it.

Honestly the thought that I could've drawn a line under things never even crossed my mind. The GM had suggested before you that we might "...close out downtime with the drinking" so I'd been thinking we'd at least get our drinks and find a table before they dropped the curtain. I wasn't exactly in a coherent enough state of mind to be making executive decisions when I made that post anyway XD.

---

I'm finding it a bit difficult to articulate my thoughts on all this. On a fundamental level I agree with you, but also I have a really hard time relating to some of what you're saying because it feels like it doesn't reflect my experience.

Any suggestion that we don't want to roleplay here or might want a 100% tactical game feels kinda laughable to me ... like you're the only party member to have acted in more than a single round of combat in the last 30 days. We've been doing a considerable amount of roleplaying on the hoof and talky scenes, planned or otherwise, on the way here, and I wouldn't blame anyone at all if they were chomping at the bit to get back into their frame. It's not like we need to be in a dedicated freeform Downtime scene for character interplay or in order to build the narrative. Downtime doesn't need to be any more or less than people want it to be.

Obviously mileage varies on the proper balance of combat and social, but for me personally the core reason to play Lancer (rather than some other system) is for tactical combat and buildcrafting. I'm in no shape or form looking for wall-to-wall battle scenes, but I'm very eager to get to LL3 and beyond and to experiment with new frames and builds. That's my primary drive for being here.

I'd have been totally happy to make Downtime rolls, talk through what their outcomes amounted to and move on to our next briefing or whatever - our mission is the "main thrust" of things to me. It's fine to do things outside that banner, but this early in the game (and while we haven't even seen combat at LL1) I'd much rather we keep pushing forward and following our unit's active role in the conflict than make downtime scenes any longer than they need to be. I'd have been perfectly comfortable if we'd got together and agreed we wanted to do a scene where the PCs got together in the bar to debrief and de-stress, but as early as last Tuesday (with nobody else actively posting) I was starting to worry that you and I had taken over the game with a scene that was closed off to anyone else. If they felt like they couldn't join in* or just hadn't wanted to do Downtime RP then the whole game was kinda on pause so we could do our thing.

That's why I made that PM thread. I was worried we'd effectively hit the brakes for everyone else.

If I hadn't already established this relationship with you then I'm pretty sure I would've been quietly sitting in the corner waiting for the talky people to wrap up what they were doing too.

*And frankly I hadn't expected either of them to.

---

To put it another way:

Personally I feel like the combat/roleplay balance is off right now in favour of roleplay. That's not to say that I think there's been too much roleplay - I've enjoyed the actual quantity very much - but that I'd probably have liked another 2-4 turns in firefights before hitting downtime and as such would like to be back in the field sooner rather than later. That impromptu interaction between our characters felt a very natural thing to do in the quiet, but without that I don't think I'd have wanted to spend a moment longer on Downtime than was necessary. I certainly wouldn't have sought out interaction with NPCs for its own sake.

Also just generally I'm always a bit antsy about play-by-post games on here taking their foot off the pedal. Feels like that can be one of the many ways they end up slipping into the void.

---

I really hope none of this comes across as mean-spirited or overly negative. I'm very much enjoying my time here and you've all been wonderful.

I do enjoy being unexpected.

That's the heart of why I suggested a separate thread for RP.  We can have it open for people to interact with each other or the world at their leisure; while simultaneously progressing into big robot battles.  They wouldn't even need to be chronologically in sync.

I PM'd Sunder, It seems that they are ok with their RP involvement thus far, so I will close out the bar scene and transition into the briefing for the next day. If you want to continue RP, I have posted another thread, as per Fossil's suggestion.

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 201):

And *perfect* timing on that interruption too: very prime-time soap-opera-ish. Made for a great scene :)

Sadly, I don't think I have time to follow both a combat thread and an RP thread at the same time, certainly not when I'm in the field (i.e. half the time). (That's basically two games). So this solution doesn't really work for me.

@GM: I'm a bit confused about the results of our Downtime rolls too? In my head that was going to be resolved/decided by the GM, but apparently not? So do we describe outcomes and choose our own associated Reserves? Roll for them? Something else?


RE More Combat: Partially my fault for by-passing the middle combat for us two there... Although, on a side-topic, I'm thinking the Combat-as-a-skill-challenge thing is generally to be avoided? Real combat *is* exiting, so I suggest saving skill challenges for non-combat stuff? (Which I strongly hope we'll see again, by the way -- maybe in a combat-engineer/problem-solving part of a scenario? That would be cool). Otherwise: generally agree that combats have been short. This being my first game of Lancer, I'm going to assume this is not always the case with this system?


Side note again: For the "100% tactical" comment, not that important but I was talking about RP segments vs Combat segments. i.e. things whose outcome are determined by rolls vs things determined by roleplay. What proportion of each of those scenes do we want was the question I was trying to ask. Not RPing while in tactical combat didn't even cross my mind. :)

Sorry for the poor phrasing

I think I had mentioned this earlier, if I am remembering right. Basically, I want to run them like I did with skill challenges - the player describes what they are doing in character, makes the roll, and narrates the result. If you gain reserves from your downtime actions, you can choose them according to the downtime action.

As for the balance of combat and RP sections, so far I have been running them according to the module. However, I can tweak it somewhat during the module, and more later on once we finish (which shouldn't be too long, as this day is the last section of the adventure). However, this is something I definitely want the group's consensus on, as I don't want to push it too far in any one direction.

That seems a bit low risk to me (controlling both the attempt *and* the detailed results), but alright, if that's the way we want to do it.

Something like this?

RT Rolled an 11 Get A Damn Drink + 2 Convince/Charm + 4 Stay Cool and/or + 2 Apply Fist to Face as needed (OOC post #177)

LOOSE A useful item: There *was* some gambling to be had after all, and they founnd it. RT lost his
11:58, Today: Rolling Thunder rolled 3 using 1d3.  Lost gear.
Portable printer in the exchange (Damnit, the most useful one too)

GAIN A good reputation Changing it for A Piece of Information, specifically the Scouting Reserve to be triggered on any mercenary lancers in the theater of operations, if that's alright? (I guess he had some enlightening conversations about Rainmaker and co with other personnel during the festivities).

As far as anyone is aware, Rainmaker is the only off-world mercenary currently employed by the Vestans. If there are others, they have not made their presence known yet.

Um, that makes him even more suspicious :)

Scouting Reserve to be used when/if Rainmaker and his gang show up again?

Or is that too specific?

I think that the Vestans would be keeping the details of their deployments under wraps, so you will not gain any specific info on their whereabouts. They definitely are still present, though. Probably arguing for more hazard pay.

Suggestions for an appropriate Reserve then? (I'm sort of drawing a blank right now)

If you wanted specific information about Rainmaker alone, you could get the Tracking reserve.

Or maybe a simple Accuracy Reserve to counter your HMG penalty.

Out of character, the stompy bitey robosaurus is fun (of course!).  But what I've gathered from the in-character discussion is that the flight-system is a no-go but keep the sniper rifle?  I suppose I wouldn't need the flight system to pick off flyers from the ground; but melee certainly wouldn't cut it.  I could mix the two and do flying melee shenanigans; never thought about that but it seems awkward.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:51, Tue 21 Nov 2023.

I didn't think anyone had said anything against the flight system (?). Maya didn't comment on it, being too distracted by talk of teeth and big guns.

OOC I think it's probably a good idea, especially if you've put any points in Nuclear Cavalier by now. Easy 2 Heat per turn would get you in the Danger Zone pretty darn quick.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:24, Tue 21 Nov 2023.

That's what I was thinking too; builds up plenty of heat to get down to some Nuclear Cavalier Bonus Damage.  Though I probably wouldn't need the Sol-Laser too.

Thinking Assault Rifle, Anti-Material Rifle, and an RPG.  Lean into the loading weapons since I'll probably be stabilizing more frequently.  I think I'll do that, never gone with a flying mech before and it sounds like it'll be fun.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:38, Tue 21 Nov 2023.

Like I said earlier, neve done a flying mech before so I've been dusting off some rules.  It says that Heat generated by the flight system is applied at the end of my turn, so this rose a question:

If I fly somewhere on my turn and then stabilize, does that clear my Heat only to immediately add +2 Heat from having used the flight system?

Also, after a few combats I've also been wondering how Size 2 and Size 3 mechs were going to be represented in the combat map.

I guess. Does seem like that's how it'd work.

Bigger frames take up more spaces on the grid. A Size 1/2 or 1 frame only occupies one space, while a Size 2 takes up 3 spaces and a Size 3 covers a massive 7 spaces.

---

Could I possibly request some clarification of our win condition(s) in this mission, GM?

Do we need to be holding all the points at the end of the mission, hold each point for a certain amount of time to lock it down, can we win by just taking out all the hostile frames etc?

I only asked about mech sizes because I remember having used these demolition hammer guys before, when GMing a Lancer game for tabletop.  Pretty sure they're Size 2.

And I think I can work with (take advantage of) the Heat build up from flying.  Just gets me to Nuclear Cavalier that much sooner after a stabilize.

Sardine - the main win condition is holding the jammers. At the end of each round, if one side has only their mechs in an objective, that side scores a point for each objective where this is the case. After six rounds, the side with the most points wins. Of course, killing all of the enemies would also win you the encounter.

Fossil - I’ve been running all mechs as size 1 due to roll20’s map text snapping to one space and your everests being size 1. Once you get larger mechs, I may switch out to outlines on the map to better represent the sizes of your mechs (mainly to avoid reducing the area of your attacks or abilities).

Works for me.  Keeping things simple.

Say, how many Z-levels above the jammers can I be flying and still score an objective point for the round?

You can fly two spaces above them and still control the jammer.

How tall are the various buildings? (I'd suggest putting Number of Spaces on them if it's a varied lot?)

(I'm guessing those barricade-looking things are Heavy Cover?)

The building sizes vary, so I’ll throw numbers on them when I post the map next. The barricades are hard cover.

Sunder's shot still deals its Reliable 5 damage right?  If that dodge Reaction turned the hit into a miss.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:39, Wed 22 Nov 2023.

It would, that's my bad. I'll update the post.

I'm happy to take the last turn Maya.  I kinda want to see this gravity launch that RT has readied on you.

Where do those dodge rolls come from, and can they be turned off?

Based on what we've seen it do, that mech you shot at is an Ace.  They have a Reaction ability that they can use to negate a single hit against them, turning it into a miss.  The GM rolled during its turn to see if the ability has recharged or not, until it rolls high enough to recharge the Dodge Reaction it can't be used again.

How you would turn it off would be to affect the enemy mech with a Slow effect; it can't use this dodge reaction while slowed because it is required to move as part of the Dodge.  Slow prevents the extra movement.

Anything else that might turn off reactions would work too, or attacking it with multiple attacks since it can only dodge one of them.  Also, they are susceptible to hacking; Tech Invasions can't be dodged like that.

[thumbs up emoji]


One annoying thing is that being grappled prevents you from using reactions, but seeing as grapples are initiated by a regular attack roll they can just dodge the grapple attempt :|

---

Can I just check whether there are any complications I have to bear in mind if trying to melee the Missile Launcher frame? Extra distance from it being in the air or anything?

I'm certain it's still on ground level.  The GM said it landed on the jammer to control it, so sounds to me like it's in melee range.

In reply to Maya Vost (msg # 228):

No, there are no complications for meleeing the missile launcher mech. It’s flight system allows it to fly when it is moving, so it has to land after doing so.


One other thing: the twin shotgun mech can fire twice with its shotguns - I forgot to do that when it shot the drone, so I wanted to let the group know about that so when it targets one of you, you all know I’m not pulling the at out of nowhere.

God, that turn was an endeavor. Writing up Combined Arms 3, and having to cover all the conditional Accuracy bonuses, really over-complicates things.

Hope that's not too hard for you to unpack, GM. I did my best to make things clear.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Thu 23 Nov 2023.

That poor little jet-mech got himself a whole lot of hate this round.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Thu 23 Nov 2023.

I was about to use my new Tracer ammo, but at the last moment I recalled that the Get Creative Downtime action doesn't give me a finished item in time for the next mission unless I roll 20+.  Which I did not, only 14.  So...don't have them yet.

C'est la vie.

I suggest we let RT take the first turn next round.  If he can eliminate that shotgun mech before it takes a shot at Maya, it solves some problems right at the outset.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:33, Fri 24 Nov 2023.

I'm certainly okay with that, but I'm also not too bothered about taking the hit (when I'm at full HP and that enemy's enjoying an additional +2 Difficulty on their attacks) if we want to try anything else. Even in the worst case scenario I can't imagine I'd be taking Structure.

Maya and me have been talking about what happened last night exactly and have come to some conclusions :)

Following that, I've updated IC post #162 #163 (first few lines and last sentence) and IC #172 (last sentence)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:05, Sat 25 Nov 2023.

Subtle as his namesake, this one...

Also I think you meant #163. #162 is one of mine ;)

I have no idea what you might be referring to, RT is the soul of sensitivity and tact...

Well, she did already determine that the night cost Maya her dignity...
This message was last edited by the player at 15:52, Sat 25 Nov 2023.

How dare you, sir!

But naw, actually we went with something else for the loss of dignity :)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:17, Sat 25 Nov 2023.

Hmm, wasn't expecting them to get teleported.  Might need a change of plans; since Shotguns is already in melee with Maya, maybe it would be best for her to take her turn first and bring that sword to bear.  You still have +1 to melee from last round's Combined Arms, right?

Don't want to get into melee with that Superheavy Demolition Hammer.

Also, could we get a different color to represent invisibility?  That gray is the same as the hex lines, it took me a while to see that JG was still on the map.

Agreed for Maya having next go. 2SG also has an unconsumed Lock On on him from Werner

By the by, I make it 1-0 for us on the first round :)

>Hmm, wasn't expecting them to get teleported.

From the description I get the impression their previous positions were sensor-lures/distortions of their actual position?

Yeah, effects like Swallowtail's Core Power tend to use out of sequence teleport moves for that sort of thing. Can feel a little unnatural when it's doing things like shifting units out of ongoing melee fights, but when it works well it really makes it hard to trust what's in front of your eyes.

Keeping things nice and simple, relatively speaking.

In an idea world I'd have saved the Lock On for the shotgun and maybe rolled a little higher, but given it'd lose +1 Accuracy if the HCB missed anyway I thought it made sense to front-load.

@GM: Would the turret drone activate again against 2SG on Sardine's charged blade hit? (We are in a new round, right?)

It should be 1 per round per turret with no connection to my actions after they are set up.

According to Comp/Con, the drones are one use only and require the spending of a reaction to use.

Hey RT, is there some way you're targeting both the hostile frames without hitting me?

Not complaining if that's what you want to do, but I'm not seeing how else they're both within a one-space radius other than if you're throwing the payload straight at me.

Looks like he's targeting his missiles at the invisible guy and the hammer guy; Shotgun guy gets a pass this turn.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:00, Mon 27 Nov 2023.

Ah, well spotted. I guess that's tunnel vision on my part.

Guess I'm just looking for excuses to think the worst of you, RT :)

In reply to GM (msg # 246):



I think this is the relevant quote from COMP/CON.  I'm certain that the text is referring to the fact that each Deployed Turret Drone can be fired once per round by using a separate Reaction.  One Reaction per Turret in the field, but each deployed turret able to make a Reaction shot once per round.

Technically it is using Sunder's Reaction to fire the Turret on another player's turn.  The line in the drone description is just clarifying that it doesn't fire every deployed Turret Drone at once; just one drone per Reaction.

Do we have a limited number of reactions per round, or per event?

You get one reaction per turn in the round, but some reactions, including using the turret drone, can only be taken once per round.

Well, in Lancer Rounds and Turns are different.  A Turn is any individual character's action during the Round.  RT just took his Turn during the second Round.  It's a bit semantic if you aren't accustomed to it.

I say that because the explanation pertains directly to your number of Reactions per Round.  Every character gets one reaction per Turn; but there are as many turns in any given Round as there are participants in the combat.  So you could take a Reaction during the Shotgun mech's turn, then another during Maya's Turn, then again during RT's turn and so on.  The limit is what Reaction Abilities you have available.

For instance, everyone can Brace as a Reaction when they take damage.  But the Brace Reaction, like most Reactions can only be performed once per Round.  You can still take more Reactions, but they would have to be something other than Brace.  You have to look at the specific Reaction to see how often it can be used per any given Round, but usually it's 1/Round.

Now, for example, let's assume Sunder deployed all three of her Turret drones, had a Goblin Autopod gun equipped, and took two hits all in the same Round, while each of her three allies scored a hit against an enemy and one of them consumed a Lock On to do it.  When the first ally hit, you could use your Turret Reaction to attack with a single one of your deployed Turret Drones.  Then Sunder took a hit for damage and Braced (second Reaction) to resist the damage.  Now your second ally scored a hit which allowed you to do another Turret  Reaction.  Then Sunder took a second hit; she's already Braced so she can't use the Brace reaction again this Round thus taking full damage.  Now her Third ally hit but this one consumed a Lock On to do it.  This triggers two different possible Reactions: You can either use the trigger from your Autopod gun to do a shot of your own because the ally consumed a Lock On; or use your Turret Reaction to shoot with your third Turret Drone.

Even though two possible Reactions were triggered in that last turn, you have to pick one or the other.  The exception to this is the Horus Gorgon, which is all about taking Reactions and can do multiple in a single turn; but Horus is all about breaking the rules so don't pay attention unless you actually want to pilot a Gorgon.

Sorry, didn't intend to get so long-winded.  Hope that cleared things up for you!

^^^^^^^^^^^^
||||||||||||

What the GM said

Yeah, he was hoping to take out Demolition-Hammer before he had a chance to act, but no cigar :(


So, in conclusion, it is 3 more damage on 2SG then?

That is what I thought, each turret fires once per round, each on a different turn.  I hadn't considered the overlap with brace but sure it could play out something like that.

I think I got quite lucky there really. Two times out of three that result would've seen me taking double damage for the time being, which doesn't sound very fun with the hammer yet to fall.

Huh. I guess I must've messed up when I updated my character sheet*, but I've got Hull 2/Agility 1 so I should have Evasion 9 rather than the 8 that's on my sheet, making that attack a miss. That's totally my bad.

At one point I'd been planning to go Hull 3 but I changed my mind about that. It's why I've got 17 health in my bio rather than 19.

*And you can check the edit date to see I'm not trying to pull a fast one on you.

---

That said, I don't actually mind taking the hit if you're not overly keen about rolling back a "gotcha!" moment like that. I'm totally okay with Maya getting put in her place a bit.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:40, Tue 28 Nov 2023.

The -3d6 was from the difficulty on the attack, and the result was 2, 2, and 1, with the roll before that being a 13, so it would have hit. I can reroll the attack with that as a seperate roll if you want, though, because I don't want it to seem like I'm cheating with the roll.

Oh, I totally misunderstood what was in the post as the final result (as an 8 would've hit on Everest's base Evasion). Sorry.

Absolutely no problem. Like I said, I've got no issue with taking the hit; no need to reroll.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:07, Wed 29 Nov 2023.

For next round, if RT goes first he can grav-pull Skeleton Key out of combat, give her a chance to get her bearings back?

Could Maya Brace?

It's a nice idea but I don't think there's much point to pulling me out of combat. I'm stunned until the end of my next turn, so there's nothing stopping the enemy from just walking back up to me to take another swing.

I'm fairly sure I can't Brace. The hammer forces a check on hit but you use Brace after damage had been rolled, so the failed Hull check should preclude taking the reaction.

Well, there'll be at least one 'thing' :)

That shot should put down the shotgun mech.  Something like 20 damage he's taken so far.  Fingers crossed that our  invisible friend doesn't dodge my other shots, but even if he does that's still 4 Reliable damage.

I kept trying to think of something to interrupt the hammer bro, but nothing I could do this round would have stopped him from having his turn next round.  Decided to go for a Hail Mary shot at the invisible bug.

Something I wanted to check: am I stunlocked so long as the hammer frame is able to keep on landing hits on me (against Evasion 5) given that I automatically fail Hull saves while stunned?

Yeah, I think so. On the bright side, he has 3 difficulty on his attacks, so even with evasion 5, you still have some chance that he will miss.

Makes sense as a way to punish this kind of (somewhat) unsupported deep engage. It's a hostile frame type that you can't just outlast in the 1v1, so you need backup in case this sort thing happens to you and you're stuck taking a nap.

The Stun lasts until the end of your next turn.  If the Hammer Bro attacks you while still stunned (you haven't taken a turn yet) then both stuns would clear after you did take your turn.  You wouldn't get an action, but it would have to hit your full Evade next.

Very good point!

Okay, that got a laugh out of me.

I'm fine with your rolling saves on my behalf.  Anything that speeds up gameplay; it isn't as though the dice react differently if I rolled them.

One thing though...on my turn I flew to height 2 and moved to the hex above Rolling Thunder.

Oh damn, I missed that completely. I’ll get that fixed.

I'll put it between you, RT, and Sunder. It's move combined with its jump would get it there, and it has reach 2, so it should still be able to hit you.

RT, I saw that you had taken your turn - feel free to edit your actions according to the new situation.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:32, Thu 30 Nov 2023.

Wow, this guy is fast.  I'm not engaged though, right?  Since I'm at height 2.  This is important because I'll need to know if I can fire my Ordnance RPG when my turn comes around.

No, the two of you aren’t engaged with each other. He is engaged with sunder and RT, though.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:07, Thu 30 Nov 2023.

In reply to GM (msg # 273):

RT'll live his life to the fullest: he'll go with his actions as written and try to tank the Overwatch from Heated Blade :)


EDIT: By the by, I make it 3-0 in our favor at the end of Round 2. Winning on points at least
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Fri 01 Dec 2023.

The next turn is posted, HB is saving its reaction for now.

Man those rolls...

Yeah, the jump generator ace got lucky. If I hadn't got the invisibility roll off there, you would have smoked him.

SB got lucky too - and is a lot scarier than I thought it would be. A lot of its tech stuff is on recharge now though, so the group should catch a break. For now.

Well, you're not friends until you've shot each other.  Sorry Sunder!

Blind eh?  I can manage that.  Actually narrows down my turn for me.  Let's get creative!
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Fri 01 Dec 2023.

Sunder, I think you have already acted this round when you hit the hammer mech with the Puppet System and the Eject Power Cores.

It is difficult to tell when one turn ends and the next begins when there is so much back and forth.

It was a good turn though!

We could change the subject at the top of the post to indicate the turn? (Like I did with this post for example)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:19, Sun 03 Dec 2023.

If there's any better indication that marking turns was necessary it's that I went the whole day without realising I was the only player yet to act XD
This message was last updated by the player at 23:36, Sun 03 Dec 2023.

Here I thought you were just reluctant to do an 'I'm Stunned' Turn.

Or maybe I was being too method and playing the part by doing nothing!

5-0 in our favour at the end of round 3 :)

P.S. Wasn't clear, but the displaced dirt was just supposed to be an indication of the grav-wave punching its way towards the target

Quick question: what's a ram cannon?

It's a Heavy Cannon with Range 5 that can also be used as a Threat 2 melee weapon.  I think it also has bonus accuracy.

 From the description I think DH should be in engagement range with RT (i.e. 1 space to the west of where it is represented now?)

Updated the map, thank you for letting me know about that.

Start of Round 4...was it our turn or the enemy turn?

Not 100% sure, but given there hasn't been a definite enemy turn since mine I'd assume it's theirs until informed otherwise.

I'm wondering whether the new targets dropping in might have counted as the first enemy turn.

I’ve been running the enemy reinforcements as independent of the turn order, and just happening at the start of the round before anyone acts. You guys still get the first turn.

So it's up to which of us wants to take the first turn then.  My guns are unloaded at the moment, making me happy to let others have the initiative.

I'm very happy to wait until after RT if he'd like a crack at finishing off DH, but if he'd rather be freed up to do something else I could try and finish it off instead.

Sunder's Puppet System would force DH to take Overwatch shots from both Maya and RT.  Might be a slick way to knock him out if everyone is willing.

That was the goal, I just didn't realize we still had more of the previous turn to go before the new turn started.

Well, it's a new Round now.  Everyone has a Turn coming again.

RT has plenty of potential targets in range, so if DH hasn't acted yet I suggest Maya take a crack at him first?  (With the amount of damage we've piled on him, I'm thinking he's got heavy armor on and Maya + Werner are our only AP at the moment (Miss my Panabas...))

If DH has already acted, RT will say something like "I can take care of him".

Up to her what she does with that information :)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:28, Tue 05 Dec 2023.

DH is also able to brace to gain Resistance to a hit; which is what it did when you struck it with your Heavy Machine Gun.  We'll have to either hit it very hard or hit it multiple times to finish it; it can't brace against the second shot.

Also, does the enemy AM Rifle not have the Ordnance tag like mine?  I hope it's at least Loading so he can't keep making a shot every round for 10 damage.

It does have ordinance, thanks for catching that. I don’t think it would make a difference, as it is range is 25 and it could draw a line to RT, but I will update the post.

I was hoping that a decent damage roll would finish the guy, but then I only hit for 3 (From 2d6...).  However, I'm seeing that the Hammer Bro has taken about 8 Heat damage now; between my Nuclear Cavalier hits and Sunder's previous Tech Invasions.  If that isn't enough to force him over his cap, it can't possibly take more than another point of Heat.

If Maya or Thunder hit it with anything that does Heat, even just a Fragment Signal Invade, it'll become Exposed.  If it isn't already.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Tue 05 Dec 2023.

Slight misunderstanding there, GM: Prior to this I'd taken a point of Stress (Overheat-related) not Structure (damage-related). Similar but not quite as dire for me as having already lost one of the latter.

---

I could Brace here and barely cling onto that point of Structure, but with only 2hp left and a single Quick Action on my turn I'm pretty sure I'd be losing it very soon anyway.

19:37, Today: Maya Vost rolled 1 using 1d6.  Structure Damage.

And of course I roll the one-in-six chance of being Stunned again XD

---

Guess that means you're taking the next turn by default, RT. No particular benefit to me going next.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Tue 05 Dec 2023.

I don't think not moving is an option for me.  Since I'm flying choosing to not move means I fall to the ground; which is movement anyway except I get 6 damage out of the deal.  Unless I'm missing something.

With the Ram Cannon guy, he would have had to move closer to RT and Maya before Boosting through them to do his damage.  Unless he has a Move as high as 12 but I don't think anyone does.  When he Boosted, wouldn't that have triggered Overwatch from Maya?

At least my hit managed to take our hammer problem.  I didn't realize just how close he was to going down for that weak damage roll to finish him.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:23, Wed 06 Dec 2023.

Yes, RC boosting could trigger an Overwatch from her, assuming she wanted to do so.

I thought Sunder had Jammed the assassin mech in IC post #207?

And Oh shit: I was convinced Sardine had acted this round for some reason (i.e. that RH and ATM were going to get the drop on us at the beginning of next round).

As that's not the case, what if Sardine double-activates, once at the end of the round,  once at the beginning of the other?

No, the sensor mech was the one who got jammed as part of the Eject Power Cores invade, and Sardine double activating here is totally fine.

So help me out here: am I just doing another Stunned! turn, or am I in a position where I might be taking two immediately consecutive turns (?)

One Stunned at the end of the round and either activate again on top of the round OR…

On the other hand, I think RT might have convinced RC to concentrate on him next round (?), so if Thunder activates first next round he could Disadvantage both of them, leaving the field open for a surprise return from Sardine on our second activation?

Just a thought. Up to you Maya which version you prefer (double or RT first) :)

Well I was partly asking/checking whether there's any hostiles left to act after my turn, although I realise I could've expressed that much more clearly than I did.

---

I'm totally okay with letting you act first if you'd like. Feels a bit weird narratively to go Stunned -> not Stunned without some kind of break in between (even if there's an in-universe passage of time).

I think there’s just the Sensor mech to go after you, and he’s Jammed (Hence the GM go-ahead us my understanding)

(Oh, and I’m in transit in case you guys are wondering :) )

I hadn't noticed before on account of the tiny text but why does the turret drone say 'spent' next to it?

I put that there when I thought it was a one-use-only, and I forgot to remove it. That is my bad, I'll remove it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:00, Thu 07 Dec 2023.

Ahh, I was fairly sure it was one use per round, per turret, with only one usable for each triggering instance.

Post updated with RTs rolls

SB should still have a Turn coming at the end of Round 4.  Being Jammed means no Tech attacks or weapon attacks, but the thing can still move, Boost, Ram, Grapple, or Improvise Attack if it wanted to.

Saw the picture for Rainmaker; did much to correct the image I had pictured for him.  I kept thinking of him in something similar to a Battletech Catapult
This message was last edited by the player at 04:37, Thu 07 Dec 2023.

At this point, I think the baddies are more interested in inflicting as much damage to our machines as possible than they are in stopping our virus upload.  Last round puts the score at 6 to 1; with only 2 rounds left on the timer.  End of Round 6, wasn't it?

Going to wait on RT's save result before taking an action.  RPG really needs to know exactly where everyone is positioned!

Edit:  By the way, HB still has a Lock On if someone wants to take that shot.  If Sardine was to go adjacent to Sunder, she'd even benefit from Sunder's Spotter Talent.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:21, Thu 07 Dec 2023.

And my auto turret, that triggers if you use a lockon even in close combat

Oh, you equipped the Goblin Autopod?  I'm going to have to keep that in mind.

One thing to note about the map: It still shows me floating at height 6 instead of being landed on the building at height 8.  Must have gotten mixed up with all the variables going around.

The action economy is kinda rough, way more things to do than time to do them in.  I figured the auto cannon and or turrets might help with that, but even deploying or triggering them is its own kind of tricky.

We just have to keep them in mind when RT, Maya and I perform our turns.  Since we'd be the ones triggering your Reaction shots.  I'll try to call them out during my combat posts if I think I triggered one, but I don't think anyone would mind your interjecting an Out-of-Turn post to fire off one of your Reaction shots.  That's what Reactions are all about.

Also, keep in mind you can always Overcharge if you need an extra quick action in a given Round.  The first two times you Overcharge aren't that Harsh of a drawback.  Overcharging would let you do 3 Invasions, or drop an extra Lock On in order to prime your Autopod.

/laughs in taking Stress on a turn I started with 3 Heat XD

Well, we can't all be Nuclear Cavaliers.

In reply to Werner Steinn (msg # 322):

Fixed it, thank you for catching that.

IC post #215 updated with the grav pull

Save coming up!

Well, if RT made his save guess I'll wait a bit more for my Turn.  Nobody is in a good position to RPG, and I don't want to put a rocket up RT's backside.  Go ahead Maya.

I'm very open to suggestions of what to do with my turn.

I figure that between the Lock On we have on HB, mixed with Sunder's Spotter Talent (Allowing you to roll the attack twice and take the better when you are adjacent to her and consume said Lock On) and Autopod dealing 3 damage upon the Lock On being consumed you can probably tear that ninja-mech apart.  He's already taken 5 points of damage too.

Well, greatest threat on the board seems to be AMR IMHO (no offense to RC), *and* he hasn't acted yet.

Low-hanging fruit would be HB, which is closer, while RT does his best tank impression over in the corner :)

In any event, I suggest we direct every damage-dealing attack we do vs whichever target Maya chooses, take them out as quick as we can?

HB is more dangerous than the dice have allowed him.  Luckily for us his knock prone move has kept failing.

I'm looking to use my own AM Rifle against their AMR come my turn, but I don't think I would be able to one-shot him on 2d6 and he's out of range for my Assault Rifle.  I think we have better odds of knocking HB out right now, before he gets another turn.

Got a post underway atm. Personally I'm not too concerned about AMR for the simple reason that they're (presumably) all but disarmed until after a reload.

Oh. Uh ... I guess I must've missed when they reloaded.

They reloaded as a reaction to Fossil moving last round.

Does this include the -1d6 for Shield of Blades? If not I think that might be a miss?

No, it does not, thank you for catching that.

Niice.

Updated RT's last port to reflect that

I got a laugh out of this one.  Very amusing image of the sniper in his mech pounding on the controls as it leapt from the top of the building.  Falling from Height 6 should deal 6 AP damage to him; nice move.

I was halfway into my combat post though, guess I'll just have to rethink my turn and reroll my dice after the next enemy action.

Nice! Very Looney Toons :)

I'm not seeing Sunder's moves below her post for some reason? Are they privated or something?

Do I have line of sight on SB with my Anti-Material Rifle?  Or even RC for that matter.  Don't know how much being at height 8 helps here.

I'm thinking you likely have line of sight to SB, but not to RC?

That's a useful visual.  Think I'll take a shot at SB; thanks RT.