#Maximum Threat: NPC Supplement

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viral narwhal
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Maximum Threat is a third party NPC supplement featuring a host of NPC Classes, Templates, and Sitreps.
This book contains:
New rules for hijacking and piloting NPC mechs
6 Pilot Talents
13 new pieces of pilot gear
18 NPCs
9 Templates
5 sitreps
a few randomized tables to get the ideas flowing for encounters and npcs
a group of example combats for LL0-12
and a few brief rules for a couple of new playstyles: Point Skirmish, and LANSIM

https://geritzdev.itch.io/maximum-threat
Hope you enjoy, throw me a line if you see anything you like.

itch.io
Maximum Threat: A Lancer NPC Supplement by GeritzDev

A host of Third Party NPCs and rules expansions for the LANCER system by Massif Press

small quartz
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No such thing as bad timing, this is a happy day hahahaha

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Also? NPC classes? Templates? New Sitreps? Example encounters???? This sounds like an excellent GM tool, so I’m picking this up

tame mantle
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I am maximum eager for this ooooooh

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MORE NPCS CLASSES? Yes please.

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Annnd acquired.

small quartz
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nice, 28 prebuilt encounters? good shit

sharp oxide
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I did the cover art for it : D

tame mantle
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Oh that rules.

small quartz
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oh nice!! I thought it was literally out of Gundam at first, so excellent work

tame mantle
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Actually, I do have a question. How does the new talent work with the Bond system?

viral narwhal
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Bonds are not used in Mech Combat to my knowledge it's more of a narrative play thing

tame mantle
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Yeah, it kinda replace pilot stuff with it. So, 'don't really work with', that's fair.

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Gave a quick glance over everything and I dig so far the new classes and new sitreps.

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now to add it to me 150ish+ collection of npc classes, heck yeah

viral narwhal
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lol Deffo give the Ramshackle a try. It's a little odd to set up in Comp/Con , but when you give it the Demolisher's hammer and combine it with Follower Count from the Breacher, your players will have a bad time >:D

tame mantle
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It'll probably be a bit easier to make in Foundry.

viral narwhal
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good reason to scan

small quartz
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I love giving players reasons to Scan haha

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(also, I hope my template did good work for you! Always exciting to see a project use it ♥️)

tame mantle
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My players got an Athena, they use it every time they see something weird and unknown.

small quartz
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also yo, loving the randomized tables

viral narwhal
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The notable features table is my favorite. Combine that with profession and you get some damn unique npcs :D

tame mantle
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I love me some tables to make easier NPCs.

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Specially when my players suddenly start rolling convince on some enemies

small quartz
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Minor feedback: Portable Solar Panel Array looks like it may be missing the "Unique" tag? You may also be able to use the "Limited" tag for the single-use pilot gear and save some words/space since ENG only gives a bonus to Mech gear

viral narwhal
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Not meant to be unique, that's an error in the lcp

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my b

small quartz
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Oh I meant in the PDF, there was a comma after "Gear" but no followup tags

viral narwhal
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I'll add it to the list of things to fix with the next release. I can fix it in the doc, but updating the PDF will require effort

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Good eye, thanks

small quartz
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Very interested to see how the various on-foot talents play alongside Black Thumb 1 and/or AI systems

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and/or hear playtest reports about it

viral narwhal
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One of my players asked that question. As written, blackthumb 1 and commando 3 both pop at the same time. The difference is that commando 3 can be refreshed.

small quartz
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ah I meant more like what gameplay patterns you might see

viral narwhal
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Ok story time

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one of my players is a gorgon pilot. Used teh gorgon to stun an enemy with teh core power so it would automatically fail its jockey check. rolled a 6 on sab 3. Minus one NPC

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first try XD

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it was after that point that I added the 1/scene clause. Otherwise PCs have no reason to try anything else

small quartz
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damn that's spicy

viral narwhal
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We all laughed for about ten minutes

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I wasn't even upset XD

small quartz
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I know you warned against straight-up Combined Arms gameplay in the doc, but I'm still thinking about making an all-MaxThreat Talent Pilot with a COMPCON running their mech haha

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just for a little theorycraft, as a treat

viral narwhal
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I've tried it, actually

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as long as you get used to the idea of being a valid target, as long as you don't get focused it's not that bad

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I recommend trying LANSIM sometime though. it's a good way to test. I've been running LANSIM sessions with my group for the past two years or so

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Also try point skirmish if you can find someone to play it with you (I can volunteer but not tonight)

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it's wild and swingy

small quartz
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Do you usually restrict Core Powers/Overcharge in LANSIM? Or just go all-out?

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the latter makes sense for just getting players into the groove of their builds

viral narwhal
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I tried using a fresh/weathered/worn rule but really, when you're trying to test, your players want to use their abilities

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fresh, everything available, weathered, 1 overcharge spent, roll 1d6 4+ power available 1/2 repairs consumed, worn 2 overcharge spent, roll 2d6 keep lowest 4+ power avaiable, 3/4 repairs spent.

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generally I just play fresh and bring more opponents.

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if I need to bring more NPCs I can just magically reinforce with them, because it's a sim.

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no stakes, just people testing their builds

small quartz
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gotcha, makes sense

viral narwhal
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it's how I did most of the testing for the NPCs and templates in the book as well as some of the example combats, others I had to do solo

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the flip side is now that I've run LANSIM so much my players are very good To the point that they are dealing like, 30 points of damage a round, each.

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before core powers O.o

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challenging them is a fun puzzle

tame mantle
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I was eye bulging at the Nanite Launcher from Catapult but then: Superheavy, Loading.
yeah that's fine

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I do have a geniune question, however: What did you use to represent the new NPCs art-wise for games?

viral narwhal
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for most of them I just assembled something similar themed from the retrograde sprites or picked one of their interesting custom sprites. I have them configured for Roll20 as that is the platform I use

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zahak I think for puppeteer, gms mech with flamer for arsonist etc.

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I don't have permission to distribute those so you are on your own there

tame mantle
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thumbs up All good.

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I might just make some kitbashes of some I use.

viral narwhal
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my favorite trait from the catapult is flexible munitions. just yeet an ally to oblivion lol

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I encourage it. it gives them a unique feel and forces your players to wtf when they see it.

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ramshackle at least was an easy sprite, there is literally a ramshackle sprite for the default gms mech on retrograde

tame mantle
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Hahah yeah

fresh leaf
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ooh grabbing this as soon as I have monies

velvet stream
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looks cool, definitely going to try some of these in the next LL for my players

somber anchor
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definitely grabbing this later, the fact that it comes with encounters is real handy for Minimal GM Experience People (me)

foggy moss
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I can say that Lansim is a really great tool for both testing new Mech builds but can be good to learn how to do good encounters as GM

viral narwhal
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Modified original post to be a little more professional

viral narwhal
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By the way, if anyone encounters any problems with importing the LCP into foundry, @ me and let me know. I haven't had the opportunity to test versus the foundry import as I don't have the right version of the program set up.

fresh leaf
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Feels bad when i cant budget $5 lol. Ah well. Next paycheck

green turtle
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Logistic ist missing his Perimeter Defense Cannon
Arsonists Heatwave Flamethrower doesn't have the Heat (Self) (4) Tag

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The Specialist is missing his Signature Sidearm

viral narwhal
green turtle
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Well thats what I have so far

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Will look further into the LCP as I work on my campaign

viral narwhal
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Keep me posted, thanks for the feedback!

viral narwhal
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@green turtle alright the LCP file has been updated.
fixes:
Specialist weapon was missing its package tag (fixed)
logistic perimeter defense cannon id was misnamed (fixed)
arsonist heatwave now has the heat self tag.

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it might take a hot minute for itch to update as I don't have butler installed

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but it should be working. If you absolutely need it right now I can also just dm you the updated file

oak orbit
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I love the zaku esque mech on the cover!

viral narwhal
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That's all @sharp oxide who did an awesome job on the cover art.

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seriously, I gave them like chicken scratch for the cover reference and they cranked it out in an afternoon.

oak orbit
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Amazing

green turtle
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I will go through the LCP and look for stuff if thats not too much for you @viral narwhal

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Uhhh

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The Catapult Optional Features Description Texts are all in Bold

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uhh

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Either I did something wrong or the thing you uploaded on Itchio isn't fixed

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huh

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Because I'm still missing the stuff

viral narwhal
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missed a closing brace with the HTML, one sec

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nothing like a </b> to wreck your day lol

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Alright, I've gone and added the new tag

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That should at least prevent the optional from running over the rest, or at least it's not doing that on compcon

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I can't speak to the inner workings of Foundry, part of me wonders if there is a versioning thing going on because I can see the equipment on my end.

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@green turtle would you mind checking the latest version of the lcp on compcon? I just want to make sure I'm not blowing smoke here.

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version number should be 1.01

green turtle
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Works fine in Comp/Con

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Probably something on my end

viral narwhal
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I'm wondering if Foundry has issues with uploading multiple copies of files of the same name or something similar

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There might be a quirk with the process that uploads the LCPs, or at least that is where I would look first. Is there a way to completely unload the LCP?

green turtle
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sadly no

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Ah I will somehow live with it

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But I can't help you with finding any more bugs it seems

viral narwhal
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I appreciate the effort nonetheless

green turtle
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Although

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If I'm not wrong

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The Air-Boss Flak from the Cannonade might be missing

sharp oxide
viral narwhal
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Not air boss, shredder cannon was missing. In my defense this file has over 5000 lines of code : /

somber anchor
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For not knowing Gundam its helmet is a dead ringer for the iconic Gundam grunt mech

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I'm now curious what kind of factors result in that kind of convergent evolution

viral narwhal
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single eye is cool

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@green turtle ok I've patched the lcp file

green turtle
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This is with the new File

viral narwhal
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aight what the actual...

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OK I'm looking at the features and classes files and the base features for the class are attributed correctly.
Looking at the feature files, the names are also uniquely identified and match exactly what they should in the text editor

green turtle
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😂

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No Idea

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I mean its not really a problem

viral narwhal
green turtle
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I can fix most of it by hand

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just wanted you to know

viral narwhal
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you shouldn't have to

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but thank you for the notice

green turtle
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No problem

viral narwhal
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if nothing else it looks like I"ll have to dedicate some time to learning how the Foundry import is put together.

green turtle
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But In all Honesty

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I absolutly adore your selection of NPCs

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They are all really really great

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And I can't wait to try them against my players (Especially the Curse against my Enkidu player hehe)

viral narwhal
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Curse is nasty if you can get the luck siphon stacks up. It can also mess with your players Overcharge meter as they'll need to do that action to get their heat up if they have no other source of heat.

oak orbit
viral narwhal
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if you want a fun time, give the Outrun sitrep a try. I used it as part of a deathrace-style encounter and it was wild

viral narwhal
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Squashed another bug regarding the super template for the lcp. the T2 and T3 levels of Annihilation Pulse should no longer show Undefined as the damage.

fresh leaf
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bought

viral narwhal
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Thanks! I hope you find it useful!

fresh leaf
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I already really like your take on piloting npcs and will be yoinking that

viral narwhal
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Yeah, I figured it would be best to keep it as simple as possible without turning them into the party's pet npc. My hope is that this implementation turns them into a resource.

viral narwhal
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So, I figure this is worth mentioning. Force Optimization for the Super template is meant to be once per round. Otherwise written as is it could just use the piece of equipment any number of times as a free action which is wrong. I've got a patch in my local copy of the lcp that I'm going to update later, and I'll be updating the PDF once I hit a certain threshold of fixes.

fresh leaf
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Nods

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I feel like, a google doc folks could see might be handy but i really really am not trying to push anything. The book is already cool even with errors

viral narwhal
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That's what errata is for, but thanks to digital publishing I can just update the PDF.

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After I update the document I used to make the PDF.

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And print that out and remake all the bookmarks because for whatever reason google docs doesn't Allow you to bookmark.

tame mantle
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Ooh, one of the sitrep is good for a blockade break.

tame mantle
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Grats on progress!

viral narwhal
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Thanks! Yeah I had to go talk with a mod to figure out what the process was

viral narwhal
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So I am planning on hosting a set of community games if people are interested. Going to be using the LANSIM format probably on fridays. Friday Fight Night is the working title. Games will be on Roll20 as that is the platform I am most prepared for.

pastel solstice
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I feel like it should be mentioned somewhere in the description that all of the example combats include, and are often heavily based around, the included NPC classes. It's useful for learning how they can mix with normal NPCs, but I bought this looking to improve my encounter-building as a GM by comparing it to tested examples - so it's not nearly as useful as it might have been if it had included some base-game encounters as well. I found it a bit disappointing but that may just be me. The sitreps were cool though, and I like the NPC templates

viral narwhal
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Sorry about that. I hope you still get some utility out of the book, and if you're not satisfied, I think Itch allows you to refund it.

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I've modified the description to make that more clear.

pastel solstice
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I think that's a perfect solution, and I see no reason to ask for a refund - I'm sure I'll find a use for the NPCs and I'm happy to support the homebrew community!

somber anchor
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got the book, reading through it now

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already loving the NPC stealing rules

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I will note on the NPC weapons that get multiattack, it's standard to specify whether it can shoot the same target/spread across multiple

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I assume it can do both when it says "fires twice", but it may be cause for confusion in some cases

viral narwhal
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I'll have to do another pass to see which ones I missed. I could have sowrn I did that for most of the weapons.

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thanks for the notice

somber anchor
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The one that prompted that was the Specialist

viral narwhal
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Thanks, I'll add it to the changelist

fresh leaf
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Just got done reading

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I like it
Need to test it with my own friends though

somber anchor
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Lansim rules were surprisingly simple, tbh

viral narwhal
# somber anchor Lansim rules were surprisingly simple, tbh

Yup! it's basically no frills combat. The downside is that it cuts out the narrative and character aspects entirely, but it's easy to run and doesn't require a huge time investment from players or the gm. The most I've really needed to set up for it is about fifteen minutes of prep on Compcon plus some tweaks on roll20 and then I'm ready to go.

somber anchor
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It's basically how I was running playtest already, so it works out pretty well

fervent dune
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How does the Monk's "MUSCLE NETTING" interact with the Blackbeard?

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Also, I want more. Give me more.

viral narwhal
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you both count as the same size as larger opponents or a size larger than opponents of the same size. the intent is that you would both be the same size. [Armstrong handshake here]

viral narwhal
# fervent dune Also, I want more. Give me more.

more of... NPCs? Templates? Tables? based on the feedback I've seen here and tossed around the server there seems to be a genuine need for a gm primer, or at least a cookbook of combats, descriptions, and other tips/tricks. I could probably start working on one.

fresh leaf
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I think they mean just content lol.

fervent dune
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The book seems to show GM'ing in a way different than what I am used to. I have watched a couple actual plays, and...how they gm is not how I gm. Worse, I can't explain what is different, aside from my crew(s) tend to be less energetic than anyone who is comfortable broadcasting a game. I just wish I knew some one who ran a game I would like to be in so I could ask a bunch of questions...all without spending the effort and time to find said game.

fresh leaf
fervent dune
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Haven't read all the way through yet. I will try to let you know when I do

velvet stream
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Actual plays aren't really a good indicator of what a casual game looks like, they are performing for an audience, not just each other

fresh leaf
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I also don't personally understand the link between actual plays, how maximum threat portrays GMing, and Coal Powered Puppets style. However I am autistic.

fresh leaf
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Rule question for puppeteer: are the puppets supposed to have a sensor range? Or do you just use the puppeteer's sensor range from the puppet's space?

viral narwhal
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@fresh leaf Yes to both. I gave the puppets a sensor range to try and communicate the latter. The puppeteer essentially uses that sensor range as its own and can draw line of sight and sensors from them. It's also why the Puppeteer's sensor range is so short despite being a controller. It's schtick is to essentially hang back and let its puppets spread its sensor net, acting through them. The puppets are drones controlled by the puppet so they don't have their own turns and can't act on their own.

fresh leaf
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I'm going to assume it's 5 for now unless I am corrected XD

viral narwhal
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you are correct. I'll add it to the changelist. sonufabitch I could have sworn...

tame mantle
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Hm, Outrun maps are at least pretty easy to prepare a map for, hahah.

sturdy finch
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yo just say think alot of this stuff is cool. picked it up yesterday. will look at it more over the weekend

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Logistics seem a lil - wild- in terms of it's implications on a opfor with strong recharge stuff but yea, still pretty cool.

viral narwhal
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Thanks for the positive vibes. My primary goal was to make the Supports more threatening. They might not directly do damage, but as a force multiplier they should be worth prioritizing, at least in my view. Let me know how they work out for you.

tame mantle
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Oh, question, any good suggestions for NPCs to use for Outrun maps?

viral narwhal
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strikers and controllers. Any mech that can either move at either 4 or more spaces, or slow and/or immobilize enemies is guaranteed to add some challenge to the sitrep. Just don't overdo it

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Things that knock prone, have knockback, or have prone immunity are also good choices.

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@tame mantle Things that punish movement are also good choices like the witch's chain ability. For the sake of fairness assume that the ability affects the character from wherever they end up at the start of the round after their skill check, otherwise it's just silly.

tame mantle
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Oh rad, just noticed the ping.

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I was busy making map for it.

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Thanks for the imput! I'll probably slam some Aces/Interceptors from Liminal space, a witch Commander of some sort and some Assaults on jet boosters.

Starfield_Planet1_Map.png
viral narwhal
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Let me know how it goes!

sturdy finch
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@viral narwhal q, why no reccomended Objective HP for the strike sitrep?

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running it today and was curious about that missing bit, becuase it says have 3x the number of forces but that's more than Houldout, so i'm assumign the Objective HP is rather large.

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i have the objectives at 8HP (4 total) each, since apart of the mission is extracting. by the end of the 6th

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also decdied to go with a longer map than reccomended

image.png
viral narwhal
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@sturdy finch Let me first state that I love that map and I want to know how or where you got it from.
8 HP is a good target number. The sitrep lists it as a character, object, or group of either. I base object HP on their default HP based on Size (10/20/30/40 etc) or the hitpoints of the NPC in question if using a character as the objective (16 for an Assault VIP, etc.).

The force strength is based on the idea that the players will be overwhelmed if they stick around too long. I prep 3X because my players tend to chew through NPCs like a teen in a pantry on grocery day. For map size, in playtest I found my players had to spend significant resources on mobility options to reach extraction in time. I chose 30x30 as a recommended map size as the players would need to both cross the field, destroy targets, and maneuver. Factoring in inhibiting factors like NPCs with abilities that immobilize, stun, or otherwise interrupt player activity, 6 rounds becomes a tight window especially if your PCs are piloting slower mechs. For my players it was usually a skin of teeth victory.

My recommendation is to consider the following question. Can a PC with speed 3 reach extraction before round 6 without extra movement options? For a character with speed 3 a 30x40 map will require the slow PC to overcharge twice to reach extraction in time. they can move six spaces a turn assuming they boost every turn, 6x6 = 36 + 3 (OC 1) +3 (OC 2) = 42. This is assuming that PC does not get slowed or immobilized and has no other movement options. This is just movement from left to right. This also does not account for the position of the objectives that need to be destroyed, and necessary maneuvering to get in weapons range. If your players are fast and experienced, ignore me. Go ham.

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I did list a few examples in the example combats that use the strike sitrep, and those include hitpoints of the objectives. But really the HP can be anything you want as long as it is reasonable to destroy before end of round 6.

TL;DR I made an assumption, use your best judgement. I can add a recommendation for the changelist however.

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Thanks for the feedback!

sturdy finch
# viral narwhal <@471165603743531027> Let me first state that I love that map and I want to know...

oh i make all my maps, this is just one of many. i track community made maps here tho: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HEcgdjk2klCRLdrJU4wdXFnuscDnXuH43J9OcTKkKE8/edit?usp=sharing you can find mine there.

Google Docs
Lancer Community Map Resources

Lancer Community Maps

Lancer Community Map Compendium
Timestamp,Author,Sitrep,Grid Type,Grid Details (Vertical, Horizontal, Foundry, roll20, 100px, etc.),Intended Length & Width (eg. 30 hex x 24 hex),Resolution (eg. 1920 x 1080, varies, 4:3, etc.),Content Location (Please provide URL),Notes (an...

viral narwhal
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Oh lovely. What do you use to make your maps? Do you make them from scratch? Dungeondraft? Inkarnate?

sturdy finch
sturdy finch
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check #948793401325813810 if you wanna see some unique ones from the community.

viral narwhal
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Will do. Thanks

sturdy finch
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sitrep worked out well- tho- i changed the win condition to majorty PCs extract and jacked the NPC count down to 9, with no elites but 2 bastions with pause engine, death coutner and fearless defender so there was some lasting power. it felt good. i likley wouldn't do anything past 30 - 50HP for all objectives tho. gets to be kinda action taxy in a way.

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next one i'm trying is Intercept- also i'm not seeing a round limit on it so i'm assuming it goes till the objectives are dealt with?

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viral narwhal
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Glad it worked out for you.

Correct. The victory condition is that all incoming projectiles are destroyed, after that, the remaining forces withdraw. If you are old enough, think of the missile mission from Starfox 64. Opfor is essentially sending a screening wing to ensure delivery. I'd say start with 20HP for payloads. The payloads are also objects, so equipment that damages objects has a real chance to shine.

sturdy finch
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yeup, assuming you barred tech actions cus of puppet systems? or was there another reason. becausei might allow tech actions just not forced movement or immobilized. ah yeah, i'm aware of it but never played. was a genesis kid, dreamcast, sony kid.

viral narwhal
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Correct again, or at least there was plenty of abuse during playtesting where my players would bounce the payloads like a yoyo. It was funny, but got a bit campy. your call as GM if you want it at your table. I went without as it put more pressure on my players to focus on the objectives instead of playing paddle ball with the objectives while they mopped up everything else.

sturdy finch
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Bet- sounds good 👌🏾

sturdy finch
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Intercept sitrep done. only used 4 at 20hp on a 40x40. i really liked it

image.png
tame mantle
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RE: The Chase sitrep I'm working on. I've also added an unit from Liminal Space that have the Hypersonic Insertion (full round action, spawn 3 squares away from an enemy, can do the same to fuck off the board) to 'keep and harrass' the party.

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He's also a reccuring enemy to them so that'll be good.

viral narwhal
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Neat. Let me know how it goes!

sturdy finch
somber anchor
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wingman innit?

fresh leaf
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Yeh wingman

tame mantle
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yep

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Wingman.

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I slapped it on an Interceptor from... uuuuh, I forget.

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But I like using that ability for ambushes.

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Oh, no, actually, the one I was using is from Interceptor, which is frooooooom.... Castor & Pollux, actually.

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Wingman got something similar.

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But this is Interceptor's.

image.png
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So, with an Elite, you can have one blast in, have a turn, and use their second turn to fuck off.

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So you can make a whack-a-mole annoyance for the players.

outer gulch
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Got a player in my campaign who's gotten the ||Madrigal pilot gear|| exotic from Dustgrave and is leaning into Max Threat talents for out-of-mech combat as well. How broken will this be? I have heard that there is some "alarming synergy."

Marksman 1 + 2 + 3 with the ||Madrigal Precision Rifle|| does seem pretty spooky...
That weapon becomes Range 18, 10 damage, AP, +2 accuracy, ignores all difficulty and cover, and when it crits it cannot be reduced in any way. All for a quick action.

On the other hand, I have clearly established that this will definitely make the pilot a much higher value target for the enemies. Perhaps this is fair tradeoff?

somber anchor
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Honestly I wouldn't have included the madrigal in a game that was also running these talents

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but since you already have, yeah, this player is basically a second, smaller mech inside their main one

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they should get shot at accordingly

outer gulch
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He did say his strategy actually benefits more from enemies targeting him rather than his mech. Because as a pilot, he's tankier than the mech, thanks to Commando 1. If he takes enough damage, he'll be motivated to get back inside the mech for the rest of the combat and potentially the mission, depending on how many patches/correctives the other players stock up.

He also said he would perfectly understand banning the Madrigal gear in conjunction with MT talents. I'm of the mind that we should at least try things out before banning them outright.

somber anchor
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Personally I don't really like the Madrigal gear at all, and it's probably the one thing from dustgrave I would outright not allow in my own games

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but if you wanna give it a shot that's fair

outer gulch
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I am indeed aware of Ralf's attitudes about exotics in Dustgrave, lol. I recall a certain feedback thread where the OP had criticised one of the exotics, can't remember which, and Ralf's responses were essentially "I know it's powerful, but I'm fine with it being that way since exotics are ultimately the GM's call to give out," and so on. I don't have a problem with this design philosophy although I know many folks will disagree.
Anyway, sorry to get off topic for this forum!

viral narwhal
#

Ultimately it's your call. MT was designed only with the base game I mind. I'll also call out that that the resistance from com1 doesn't apply to burn, so if you want to make them sweat, start roasting.

outer gulch
#

I do have an Elite Pyro in store for this sitrep!

viral narwhal
#

Be evil. retrofit that Pyro with step from the specter class.

#

you'll swap out one of the Pyros less useful options for a heat bane and a powerful movement option >:D

outer gulch
#

I'll put that in my back pocket of evil tricks, haha

viral narwhal
#

the whole retrofitted template is basically +1 reasons to scan.

outer gulch
#

Next fight is gonna be a Strike sitrep with 4 catapults, btw. The catapults seem kinda scary but I'm going to place a self-restriction of having them try to use different actions from each other within a round, if possible.

viral narwhal
#

how many players?

outer gulch
#

4

viral narwhal
#

yeah, that's reasonable. Hope you have fun!

tame mantle
#

Outrun map went well and was appreciated!

fresh leaf
#

hehe

#

turrets go brrr

tame mantle
#

The templates were very good, made people move.

fresh leaf
#

i just used the turret template tonight to run a fight on top of nuclear bombers in my wallflower part 2 game (using the draft)

#

they represented missile systems and pdc canons of the bombers

viral narwhal
#

Cosmic glad to hear it went well!
Tommy, How did the turret's work out for you?
There's a part 2? I had no idea. Hopefully the full version releases soon so I can run the rest of the story for my current group lol.

#

The outrun template was a last minute addition to the book ironically enough. I was running a thunderdome/deathrace style encounter for my players and I had to cobble together some rules for racing.

fresh leaf
#

The turrets worked really fine.

#

I used Rainmakers to represent missile systems and snipers for PDC canons

tame mantle
#

Next I'm gonna be doing, amusingly, a Payload and a ... Gauntlet, maybe? They'll be defending the hacking bomb for a while after getting it somewhere.

tame mantle
#

Map for payload.

Map3-2-Lights_Payload.png
viral narwhal
#

what do you use for map building out of curiosity?

tame mantle
#

Dungeondraft, lots of free assets

viral narwhal
#

The NPC data for MaxT has been updated to 1.03. This fixes a number of issues including damage from the annihilation pulse being undefined, as well as the missing attack modifier for the curse's luck siphon ability.

tulip ingot
#

@azure turret

marsh zinc
#

Wonderful supplement

viral narwhal
#

Thanks! Though I keep finding oopsies here and there both in the book and the lcp files. Im correcting them as I find them. let me know if you have questions!

tame mantle
#

That's normal!

marsh zinc
#

Oh yeah, there's a certain question, what does "Cannot be flanked by characters larger than you" mean?
From the pilot talents

outer gulch
# marsh zinc Oh yeah, there's a certain question, what does "Cannot be flanked by characters ...

The core rules use the term "flanking" to refer to an attacker positioning themselves such that their target doesn't benefit from a source of cover.

In the case of Operative 1, it means characters who are Size 1 or larger can't flank a pilot with this talent - the pilot always has soft cover against those enemies. Also, as long as the pilot is adjacent to a source of hard cover, they have hard cover against all these enemies regardless of positioning.

However, a Size 1/2 enemy can still flank a pilot with this talent. But the pilot still has soft cover, as that is a permanent effect from the same talent.

(Geritz may correct me with the RAI, but I believe this is RAW.)

marsh zinc
#

Ah, it's cause i only remember flanking mentioned in the CRB as a part of the Tactician 3, very good
Because the talent cost is hefty, i'm giving Maximum Threat talents for free very 2 LLs for my pilots
By 6 they'll have 3.
Special training to make the game funnier

#

Thank you for the clarification

viral narwhal
ruby oak
#

I'm honestly a huge fan of Saboteur 3, specifically eject pilot with just how unlikely it is to trigger, but but on the off chance it does, it just wrecks

#

However, I am wondering if you have any tips as to how I'd run a player hijacking a NPC mech?

outer gulch
ruby oak
#

Damn, I can't read loll

viral narwhal
#

I have a player that has been a godsend for testing in a campaign I'm currently running. He was running sab 3 for a good bit before switchin off on the last license level.

#

There's an alarming synergy with the gorgon, where the gorgon can use its core power to stun a target, after which you only have to beat 18% odds to ruin the GM's day.

#

granted, it required a core power, but with black thumb dismount coupled with quick action jockey, he was able to get safely from mech to mech in a single turn. It was quite enlightening.

#

and since while occupying a target's space they technically can't target you since attacks start at the edge of a space unless it's burst or some other AOE pattern, jockey get really good.

#

I don't regret adding sab 3 though. We've had some pretty hype moments because of it, but it will definitely test your ability as a GM to improvise.

#

Oh you mean the mechanics part. Wow I can't read either. Hmm...

#

As a reminder though, if the hatchbreaker shunt is allowed in your game, anyone can attempt to hijack a mech, it's just that the saboteur is so much better at it.

#

If you want to avoid maximum silliness though, a good consideration would be to add an exception clause for anything that punches about the same weight as an Ultra.

outer gulch
viral narwhal
#

On a second readthrough it looks like you are correct. I was interpreting the language "Range is measured from any edge of the attacking character, unless specified otherwise." to be outward only as I was under the impression you could not target yourself. But it looks like this was only to clarify the size adjustment. Silly me. I'll make a correction to my post.

lapis garden
#

hey this is really cool and i love it. Thank you for making such a cool bunch of talents

outer gulch
#

Question on the Arsonist's Smokescreen system. It says it "blocks LoS for all characters other than the Arsonist in both directions." What exactly is meant by "in both directions?" It's my understanding that LoS in Lancer is inherently reciprocal already.

viral narwhal
#

I clarified that as a just in case. if you are in the smoke you can't see out, if you are out of the smoke you cant see in or through.

outer gulch
#

Is the Logistic's Perimeter Defense Cannon's on-hit effect intended to cause an auto miss for the target's next non-AoE attack? Or would an AoE attack that only targets the Logistic also take the auto miss?
(I feel like it's the former but just double checking.)

#

(On a related note, I just noticed the Logistic's Service Station system lacks the Full Action tag in the .lcp. Reload Weapon also lacks the Quick Action tag.)

viral narwhal
#

First of all, thank you for the bug report I'll get that sorted on the current .lcp file and upload the fix.
RAI - When a target is struck by the perimeter defense cannon, until the end of the target's next turn. the next single-target non-aoe weapon that character uses against the logistic automatically misses. Weapons that have AOE effects (line burst, blast, cone, etc) should not be affected as they are not single target.

viral narwhal
#

Should be patched now

coral rampart
#

Quick question, not sure if it's been brought up before or if this is the right place to ask, but for the Saboteur Talent granting extra pilot gear, is there any way in foundry to actually drag the extra gear into a pilots character sheet? One of my players picked the talent up and is having trouble actually equipping his extra gear.

As an aside, great homebrew for this, finally I can appease my friends pleas for titanfall shenaningans to some extent hehehe

viral narwhal
#

unfortunately I don't know enough about how the foundry plugin is put together to help with that, as I've not used it before. Though I do recognise the issue. I've run into a similar issue just in compcon where I needed more slots but couldn'tget them. Generally the way I've tracked it is with a handout as I don't have any bespoke solutions

#

Glad you're enjoying the supplement!

#

another way you can track it is with flash cards or a pad of paper. just put it in your Gm binder and remember to ask what players are bringing when they suit up for a mission. if it's consumable, cross it out when used, etc.

ruby oak
#

I just wanna say I'm a huge fan of the fact theres a Anti Ship mega gun buried in a defender mech. Was a wonderful suprise when I was looking for a Big Gun™️ to put on a boss

viral narwhal
valid lantern
#

I just ran my first game with Maximum Threat and I gotta say these NPCs are fire. There were two lobbers in the opfor and the players latched onto both as characters because the abilities lend themselves to fun NPC reactions ("it's lobbin time!") and the cookoff ability mention the pilots ejecting. Looking forward to mixing more of them in and trying out the new sitreps (always a treat).

viral narwhal
#

Glad you liked it!

viral narwhal
balmy prism
#

Does this trait have any particular limitation on it, or is it simply any and all attacks directed to the Pal that can be intercepted?

image.png
#

Would the Buddy also take any other effects of the attack?

viral narwhal
#

They become a body shield for said character.
As written, all attacks, damage only. This also means that AOE attacks that hit the Buddy and one or more of its adjacent pals would damage the Buddy one additional time for each adjacent pal in the AOE that it chooses to protect. The general idea is that it would attempt to protect all of its pals equally no matter the cost.
The drawback is that it chooses to take damage or heat for its target, so a buddy will die quickly if it's not a dedicated tank.

balmy prism
#

The Super's Phase Change is missing the trigger in the LCP

image.png
viral narwhal
#

Thanks for the bug report, I'll get a fix going

#

@balmy prism a word was capitalized that shouldn't have been. I've uploaded the fix

#

should be working now

balmy prism
#

Lock Shields and Line Charge are mistakenly labeled as Cannonade features instead of Pawn

image.png
viral narwhal
#

Thanks for the report! that looks like a copy pasta error on my part, I'll get it fixed as soon as I get home today.

viral narwhal
#

alright, the LCP has been updated on the itch.io page

fresh leaf
#

woot

viral narwhal
#

So, fun little aside, I recently released an album called mech mania.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3TdEnCDsoN3p6Dfb4tV8if
this contains four of the songs that I play on my jukebox in roll20 that I made for mech combat. The songs are also stream safe. I havent added them to any content ID services nor do I plan to.

outer gulch
#

Damn, those tracks go hard!

viral narwhal
#

lol I try

outer gulch
#

Minor question in case it comes up during my session later tonight. If there are multiple Arsonists on the field at the same time, and they each deploy their own wildfire swarms, do they continue treating each of their swarms as their own swarms? In other words, the swarms can't merge into swarms created by other Arsonists? And when an Arsonist starts their turn, only their swarms increase by 1 space?

viral narwhal
#

@outer gulch Unless you go ham on the arsonist turns it probably won't come to that? but in case it does, my first assumption would be they are separate but don't stack or merge. treat them independently as they are being controlled by different mechs. if a space is occupied by one swarm, strategy dictates that it would be best to spread as wide a net as possible

outer gulch
#

Thanks, that's basically the same conclusion I came to. The tricky part will just be tracking which swarms belong to which Arsonist on the VTT, but that's not a big hurdle.

viral narwhal
#

I just use a colored marker in Roll20

viral narwhal
#

@outer gulch how did the session go?

outer gulch
#

I think I used one or two too many Arsonists, haha. Combining them with the spec ops template from Dustgrave made the superheated terrain insane. Much stress was lost… but players still came out on top.

viral narwhal
#

I call that a win lol

tulip ingot
#

@terse adder this is the thread

terse adder
#

thank you

#

is this supplement fun?

viral narwhal
#

I mean that's really a question more for the other people who bought it, but I would certainly hope so

terse adder
#

i am thinking of buying it for my table.
Considering i wanted my character have an NHP companion on the mech and the pilot assisting around the battlefield, maybe hijacking other mechs to get a strategic advantage

viral narwhal
#

the supplement would let you do that, though if you are not the gm I would clear it with them first. also note that being outside your mech has inherent risks

terse adder
#

GM loves the supplement

#

i bought it for myself but he is gonna use it in his game as well so i have been thinking strats for LL2

#

Saboteur got me with the ability to make an enemy exposed, and with the Calendula frame, the pilot can go intangible until the perfect moment to use jockey

viral narwhal
#

I had a pretty bonkers time trying to deal with a player who used the gorgon frame to automatically succeed on jockey. Combo was basically, wait until target is stunned and can't succeed on hull checks, black thumb dismount, jockey and sab. basically reduces the odds of not getting inside to just an 18% die roll

#

this is the same player that I have relied on for playtesting most of the shenanigans in the book. Minmaxers are a godsend lol

outer gulch
#

Minor bug report: the Arsonist's smokescreen lacks a quick action tag in the .lcp.

viral narwhal
#

I'll take a look, thanks!

main dove
#

You know, it just hit me

#

What’s the point of the Unflinching Gauntlet trait on Supers?

#

With a normal party of Lancers it seems to just be the same as the trait it’s meant to replace

viral narwhal
idle yew
#

Hey, I had a question about the Colossus template. Namely, it references being an Ultra but with +5 hp and +1 stucture/stress it's more like an upscaled veteran. Is it intended that it plays more like a Vet with just the Colossus template, and then you add the Ultra template afterwards for a big boss, or am I just missing something?

viral narwhal
idle yew
#

Ah, gotcha. So in practice it's more like a Vet in terms of encounter balance. Thanks much!

green plaza
#

Is "bag of tricks" from the Saboteur tree meant to be worded as it gives +1 Accuracy? or does it ONLY give accuracy when you don't already have it when using the jockey action

Because it just says "you have accuracy when you attempt to Jockey"

viral narwhal
#

In practice it was meant to be +1 Accuracy as at the time I did not know of any supplement or means of making the jockey action difficult.

#

Otherwise it would cancel out 1 or more difficulty which would be a violation of convention

green plaza
#

I really appreciate homebrew folks making some stuff to pair with Black Thumb to make being out of your mech way more fun risk/reward

viral narwhal
#

Happy to help

green plaza
# viral narwhal Happy to help

Actually, I have one more thing with relation to the Saboteur tree still. By making jockey a quick action with the 2nd rank, was your intent to make it so you can choose 2 jockey abilities per turn? Or can you still only pick one jockey ability per turn. I assume you couldn't pick the same one twice but wasn't sure how granular the double action rule applied here since it changes how jockeying works by making it a QA

viral narwhal
#

No duplicate actions, but what it does enable is to run up and jockey, or black thumb and jockey

#

ironically you can also fight and jockey if you wear a sidearm for a whopping 1 damage

green plaza
#

thanks again

green plaza
#

@viral narwhal forgive the ping if its out of pocket but I had another question. For Detpack Rodeo under Saboteur it mentions "forces a Hull save" what is your intentions for how this is rolled. I assume the mech affected is rolling 1d20+hull skillpoints if they have em, but whats it compared against? Whats the save threshold? is that their own save target on their stat sheet?

viral narwhal
#

the save target is your pilot save target:10+grit

viral narwhal
#

@green plaza

green plaza
#

So the save target on the sheet, that makes sense! Thank you

viral narwhal
#

@green plaza pilot save target. Not sheet. The sheet can have bonuses from your mech because that is your mech's save target. The pilot save target is a flat 10 + grit.

quasi harbor
#

Just wanted to stop by and say that this has been one of me and my GM’s favorite third-party books 😄

viral narwhal
#

Hey! Thanks for dropping by and I'm glad to hear it!

#

I am working on more content for other products in the future so watch this space.

grave sky
#

I have a question with how the Buddy template works with the Leech NPC

If a Buddy designates the Leech as their Pal and the Leech grapples onto them, does the Buddy still benefit from Side by Side? The Leech occupies the same space as the character they are grappling and is removed from the battlefield.

#

btw ty for creating the perfection that is the Colossus template 😭 🙏

it's beautiful 🥲

outer gulch
#

Per the definition on page 62 of the core book, "adjacent" means "within 1 space." Since the Leech is removed from the battlefield, I think that technically takes precedence and therefore would not get the benefits of the Buddy's adjacency while it's...leeching.

On the other hand, Max Threat was released before the Leech existed, so it's possible that Geritz may not want that interaction to happen.

On the other other hand, the Leech is a very strong NPC as-is, and you probably shouldn't use it such a way where it gets Buddy benefits 😆

small quartz
#

On the other other other hand, the leech is still intended to be targetable while grappling iirc

#

I’d say they’re effectively adjacent, treat it like Goblin Symbiosis or MULE Harness

idle yew
#

'It counts as sharing that char-
acter’s space. '

#

That tells me that it would count as adjacent

#

Same as a goblin, really

outer gulch
#

That would make logical/narrative sense

#

Definitely wouldn't be out of line to rule it in that way, imo.

#

I don't think that "removed from the battlefield" is ever explicitly defined anywhere in Massif-published content, and it typically doesn't get applied to things that are, you know, still on the map in a narrative level.

If I had to guess at Shaka's intent, he just meant that the Leech is sharing a character's space but you also don't need to bother with tracking the token in the same space because that would be tedious?

small quartz
#

Yes that’s the intent

#

Every time I played with Shaka while he used Leeches, he’d move the Leech to the side of the board so it was still targetable but not “riding the host” so to speak

outer gulch
#

My original answer was probably the result of my confusion with how "remove from the battlefield" is used by other authors, now that I think about it.

small quartz
#

Yeah absolutely valid

#

There’s some mismatch between wording and intent on the Leech, there

grave sky
#

Thanks. Already discussed about it with a friend earlier, but it's good to see insight from people that worked on the LCP :3

We ruled it that it does count as adjacent cause the Leech is still targettable while grappling and occupying the same space as its target.

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

So as stated before, max threat was released before the leech was released so that kind of thing was not in mind. however I will side with the general consensus here that they count as adjacent.
As for balance, a note: Templates almost uniformly add power to a unit. whether an npc is overtuned or not is the responsibility of the GM

grave sky
#

Yup! Noted. It worked out surprisingly more balanced than I thought, but mainly cause the Leech is just REALLY squishy XD

viral narwhal
#

Also thank you for the kind words about the Colossus, I really do appreciate it. I also recommend the Revenant if you're looking for a night of the living mech scenario

#

Just know that Rev's ca be super strong as they basicaly double to triple their effective hp pool

grave sky
#

The real problem is potentially making the Buddy NPC too strong with the Remember Me reaction when the Leech Pal does die—

Probably best to give that to something with less damage and not a striker. Good thing it was a Breacher with +2 difficulty, but any other striker might've become a budget veteran real quick 💀

grave sky
#

Colossus is just qipfdgljkwicdwdgkwhlcidw

Perfection

viral narwhal
#

Everyone needs godzilla in their campaign

grave sky
#

I was trying to make a Titan-type kaiju Monstrosity, and even with Monstrosity's insane speed Colossus takes that into account with Slow and Steady. Really allows GMs to make a Colossus with other templates without worrying about their strengths that might overtune something of that size.

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

Before I had the colossus tenplate I had used a similar homebrew monster in a campaign as a stand in. large kaiju thing. monstrosity moved too fast, hence the change

grave sky
#

I see I see, so it came from personal experience

#

Yeah it's a shame with how Monstrosity was really geared towards just fast and deadly size 1 to size 2 creatures, when it could be so much more

viral narwhal
#

A lot of the templates do. largely it comes from wanting to fill gaps in the experience or tackle problematic builds with ways to make them slightly harder, mirror for example

grave sky
#

Truly putting the "Maximum" in Maximum Threat

#

Annihilation Pulse would be something really awesome to make use of in a battlefield-type scenario with multiple NPCs around, both allied and hostile, then turning it into an epic 1v4-5 (maybe 6 if the Super Ultra is that OP) boss fight after decimating everything aside from the players.

Assuming they didn't get destroyed as well—

viral narwhal
#

I think the best part about the Super is the guaranteed hit point bars. I found that changing 1's to 2's for stuct stress rolls achieved that without making the template too mechanically complex

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

I like to think of it as. reminder that the NPCs are technically protagonists in their own story, that you are arguably cutting short

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

I've had hard combats for myplayers that went the plYers way ONLY because a luck issue occurred. much cheering from my players on that one

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

Have you tried the Lansim format in theback of the book?

grave sky
grave sky
#

But I've already cooked up some NPCs all the way till T3 XD

Yes, there are a bunch of Colossi (plural?) among those XD

viral narwhal
#

Ah no worries. I listed a couple experimental formats in the back, one is pointskirmish which is more wargamey for npc vs npc. and the other is lansim, which I use as a testing format for my players. It's basically combat without the narrative fluff

#

set a license level and an encounter, let your players build for 15 minutes, then rock

grave sky
#

But yeah, so far nothing but praise for Maximum Threat. Best Lancer Homebrew content I've gotten so far. For something Homebrew, it felt very balanced and blends in well with first-party Lancer. Simply gave NPCs a boost in power to catch up to players (especially powergamers)

viral narwhal
#

Beware one of the LL12 encounters, I never got around to testing it

grave sky
grave sky
grave sky
viral narwhal
#

T3 Lancer holds up surprisingly well. Just know that turns will take longer do to choice paralysis

grave sky
#

Oh yeah, I can definitely see that

#

T1 alone had a good chunk of stuff to do

#

Then T2 just increases that

#

So T3 naturally is like everyone playing a wizard in dnd XD

viral narwhal
#

I could probably run it for this server sometime, though I wouldhave to get my scripts set up for it first. I use Roll20 and I have a set of api scripts that automate player builds/rolls

#

Beware NPCs with multiple attacks at T3. Ronin, Spectre, and others scale HARD

grave sky
#

I think I've only played Lancer in Roll20 once, and that was the first time I ever played Lancer cause very soon after that we switched over to Owlbear. (We, as in my main Lancer group where we have a dedicated campaign connected via one-shots)

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

I have a challenge Ultra fight that is an overtuned Ronin that kills PCs through 4 structure in a single turn

grave sky
#

Strikers are scary man

#

Then you have Executioner hitting you for your entire health bar—

viral narwhal
#

We figured out the only way to bring it down were smart weapons from orbit

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

Exotic -> Bological eliminates the ronins E-weakness which is not a buff it needed lol

grave sky
#

I wanted to do a kinda gimmicky Nexus Defense sitrep where players defend a giant planetary cannon capable of damaging a size 8-10 superweapon, and the resulting damage would scale it down to a size 7 Colossus that the players can now damage with mech weaponry

grave sky
#

"Can't hack what isn't digital"

viral narwhal
# grave sky Jeezus

if you think that's bad you should see my scorch dusk wing. Lil dude ca apply 27 burn in one shot

#

at LL6

grave sky
#

Oh yeah I made a test build for a ranged Tokugawa that did 33 burn in one shot

Same LL

Never used it cause never built it, but damn that damage

viral narwhal
#

gotta run, getting back to work

grave sky
#

Alright. Good talk!

somber goblet
#

I’ve got a question—does Ramshackle need to reveal its loadout during the mission briefing, or only after it gets scanned?
Also, can Ramshackle take kits that are meant for Striders?

viral narwhal
#

AFAIK, npc loadout information is a mystery unless the PCs have the scouting reserve. What a ramshackle has equipped is an open question until it is scanned. You might know that it's a ramshackle when you encounter it on the battlefield, but what it is weilding is such a patchwork of cobbled together gear that unless you do a deep scan what it does is a mystery.
@somber goblet

grave sky
#

Anyone here, GM or player, experienced a game with the Super? What was it like?

viral narwhal
#

I've run it multiple times as the creator, but my view is biased. The super is an Ultra+benefits. it has guaranteed structure and stress and depending on player count can take more than 3 turns per round.

grave sky
viral narwhal
#

I typically run it solo. No reinforcements, and then rely on the terrain and environment to make the scenario more interesting. Just run it like a regular ultra and be mindful of how much damage it can do to one player per round. I like to think of it as several of the same unit in one, one per turn that it can take in combat. Like running several veterans of the same unit. If you're going to add reinforcements, I'd say add support units that help it do its schtick rather than outright damage enhancers. The Super is generally the big threat for the encounter. Make it shine.

#

To be fair, it's hard to measure struggle. My players are experts, I've taken them through multiple campaigns at this point and they're really good about squeezing out the big damage for their units. Tit for tat, the Super is just slightly better than the Ultra, so any combat suited for an Ultra would be about the same as a Super fight as long as your players choose to spend core powers and other resources

grave sky
grave sky
grave sky
#

If a Super uses Phase Change when its current class has certain deployables or on-field effects that disappear when it is destroyed, would those disappear or do they persist as the NPC name in the description is referring to the NPC as a whole and not just their class?

#

i.e. Arsonist's Wildfire Swarm

viral narwhal
#

This is a super niche thing that I didn't think of. As far as the Super goes, it discards those systems when it changes phase so nothing will be keeping them going. I don't remember if the arsonist maintains the fields after death but you could conveivable call that phase of the Super 'dead' which would trigger death effects such as removing swarms from things like the hive.
Either way, its your call as GM.

#

@grave sky

grave sky
soft sail
#

hey y'all questions regarding the on-foot talent bonuses from Maximum Threat. the core book seems to have two or maybe three "modes" for pilots, Mounted and On Foot. Jockeying might be a separate state as well. However, the Lancaster's Mule Harness doesn't require Mounting nor Jockeying, so... would a pilot in the harness be On Foot? Or would y'all perceive being "on foot" as more literal than that, and so being in the harness is neither "on foot" nor mounted or jockeyed, but a special fourth thing? tl;dr: can you use "on foot" talents while in a mule harness?
In a similar vein, the Saboteur talent allows for Jockeying as a quick action instead of a full action. Would y'all say that applies to the jockey actions in subsequent turns as well, or just for the actual Jockey action that begins the state of jockeying?

viral narwhal
# soft sail hey y'all questions regarding the on-foot talent bonuses from Maximum Threat. th...

First part 'On Foot'.
I personally define this as being pilot only, on foot, outside of mech. if your pilot climbs up and decides to bullride a nelson using the mule harness, they are still outside of their mech, as a pilot, doing the riding "on foot". That also doesn't change the fact that they could be targeted while riding. I don't perceive the pilot as being in any other state than "on foot" when outside the mech, not including blackthumb rodeo. So as far as I am concerned I would think you could still use those talents while in the harness. As with most things though, the GM has final say.
Intent was that those other actions are also quick actions, but you cannot use the same action twice, so you might use the jockey action to do a jockey thing and then shoot it with a quick action sidearm, slap on a thermite charge, or something else. Again, GM discretion.

limpid wraith
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Question regarding Intercept sitrep payloads and Iskander core power.

Since they automatically move 8 spaces at the end of each round, and are targets that must be destroyed by the pcs, would is the intention that the Iskander core power can trigger on them every turn?

viral narwhal
limpid wraith
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Wouldn't that kind of automatically destroy any size 1 payloads over time?

viral narwhal
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@limpid wraith
Iskander's ability targets hostile characters, not objects. In the Intercept mission sitrep, the objective is an object, not a character. If we want to nitpick the rules, then no, Iskander's ability would not affect the objective in the sitrep.
However,
I am typically in favor of rewarding my players using their core powers in interesting and useful ways, and creating a minefield that blankets the entire map in tacks to stop a payload is an interesting application in my playbook. So, as a GM I would allow it to work against the payload via GM Fiat.
I will also point out that the default size of the payload is at least size 2. Even with only 20 HP, a payload could comfortably cross a map of 40 spaces, albeit with only 5 HP to spare (40/8=5 | 20-5x3=5).

little cradle
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I picked this up earlier this evening, the Specialist NPC has me grinning and combining this with Squad Kits and a MBT to make a mostly conventional military force

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I'm heavily using Blood Money in my next campaign, and hijacking NPC mechs will definitely give my players some options for long operations...

viral narwhal
little cradle
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I also really like the turret template, the self-repair is a cool idea to keep up the pressure despite the other limitations of it.

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Rainmaker and Archer are the obvious choices, have you used any other NPCs well for turrets? I think an Aegis turret would work, but might be a little mean, lol

viral narwhal
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any artillery npcs make sense as turrets as do controllers oddly enough. a witch or curse can make interesting hazards to deal with as solitary emplacements. Melee units not as much, though I find the idea of a berserker turret hilarious

little cradle
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Ooh, a Spite turret would be a good defensive piece

limpid wraith
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A bit of a weird question, but if ships (eg, dropship) are size 4 enemies, what would be an example of a size 5/6/7 enemy for the purposes of the colossus template? I'm just currently drawing a blank on what it could be other than the obvious 'big kaiju Godzilla esque monstrosity'

viral narwhal
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Oh you mean enemy. Any oversized mech, really. If it helps think Gurren Lagann

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inconveniently large mega superweapons, mega maid from spaceballs, really, whatever you can think of that is just 'very large machine' or 'very large creature'.

pastel pike
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Does the Shogun using Command as a reaction through Speed Chess mean it can't use it on its turn, due to duplicate action restriction?

viral narwhal
limpid wraith
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Just some stuff that lives rent-free in my head
because retrofitted is such a fun template, that i made a model for an NPC.

SCOUT ELITE RETROFITTED SHADE, Tier 2 Mech
[ STATS ]
  H: -2 | A: 4 | S: 6 | E: -1
  STRUCT: 2/2 | ARMOR: 0 | HP: 8/8
  STRESS: 2/2 | HEATCAP: 0/8 | SPD: 7
  SAVE: 13 | EVADE: 15 | EDEF: 17
  SENS: 25 | SIZE: 1 | ACT: 2
[ FEATURES ]
  MARKER RIFLE (II), SIGHT (II),
  REBOUND SCAN (II), CLOAKING FIELD (II),
  EXPOSE WEAKNESS (II), ORBITAL STRIKE (II),
  REINFORCED (II), READY AND WAITING (II),
  CAREER SOLDIER (II), SPECIALIST KIT (II),
  DATAVEIL (II), UNSANCTIONED UPGRADE (II),
  COMPATABILITY THRASH (II), CAPACITOR UPGRADE (II),
  OVERCHARGE LIMITER (II), SIDEGRADE CLASS 1 (II),
  ANTI-SHIP CHARGE RAIL (II), MASTERFUL (II),
  SISYPHIAN (II), SHADE TRAITS AND SYSTEMS (II),
  SHELL GAME (II), ARMY OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION (II)
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sadly, wanting to play model-scale Lancer would take too many spaces for hexes, so it's something reserved for special occasions