RPG without MechWarriors

[Lazarus Sinn]

I am going to be running a MechWarrior RPG campaign. It is going to be long distance so there will not be much in the way of Mech combat due to the logistics. I was thinking of the PCs being LosTech prospectors or something along the lines of Interstellar Expeditions or a group out of, or similar to, the groups described in the Interstellar Players books.

I already have the basics in mind to kick things off. What I am looking for is ideas for character classes beyond the BattleMech. Any ideas, suggestions or any other input would be appreciated.

[AlphaMirage]

Classes are a weird thing, look at the Firefly crew we have a war veteran, pilot, mechanic, doctor, 'companion,' along with the wheelwoman, a chaplain, and experimental person. Its a perfect crew for exploring a strange place with many different cultures. Or the original Stargate movie with its linguist, scientists, technicians, and their bodyguards. I think of Interstellar Expeditions as more Stargate myself making contact and attempting to understand the weird cultures they encounter.

[idea weenie]

What do you anticipate the characters doing and the players enjoying?  Do the players want to explore worlds, seek out new colonies, and make money off them?  Do the players want to get into the sneaking and backstabbing actions?  Do the players want to establish their own colony and see it grow slowly by getting copies of datacores, convincing colonists to move, and buying as much cheap tech so the colony doesn't have to produce it at first?  Or do they want to be the administrator/staff of a well-run base supporting future exploration missions?

Based on those questions, you have a better idea of what the characters should be

[Wrangler]

What RPG rule set are you planning to use?

[Lazarus Sinn]

What RPG rule set are you planning to use?

I am using my own rules that are an expansion of the MW1e system. With them, or with minor tweaks, I can make any character anyone wants to play. I have attached them for reference.

[Lazarus Sinn]

What do you anticipate the characters doing and the players enjoying?  Do the players want to explore worlds, seek out new colonies, and make money off them?  Do the players want to get into the sneaking and backstabbing actions?  Do the players want to establish their own colony and see it grow slowly by getting copies of datacores, convincing colonists to move, and buying as much cheap tech so the colony doesn't have to produce it at first?  Or do they want to be the administrator/staff of a well-run base supporting future exploration missions?

Based on those questions, you have a better idea of what the characters should be

They want to have fun. My brother has played before, but the others are my nephews and grandchildren who are blank slates so they will simply see it as a Space Opera RPG, so anything goes as far as adventure. I plant to let them choose a character type to play and build the game around them.

[idea weenie]

I am using my own rules that are an expansion of the MW1e system. With them, or with minor tweaks, I can make any character anyone wants to play. I have attached them for reference.

One tweak that would be nice to make is on the "Equipment" tab, cells A27 through G34.  The power points per gram (kilo or otherwise) needs to be a little more consistent.  For example, the Military power pack needs 20 grams to store a point of power, while the Micro only needs 1 gram to store 1 point of power.  I'd recommend dropping the Micro Power Cell to only store 1 point of power, and increase the battery life of equipment that uses Micro Power Cells (i.e. radios).

On Weapons tab:
Line 51, the Pulse Laser Pistol says that it uses 2 pts of power per shot, yet a Burst that fires 5 shots uses 15 pts of power.
Lines 65-67: the 200g grenade and the 600g grenade both have the same range when thrown.  Should the lighter grenade get more range, or does its small size actually cause greater wind resistance for its mass?
Line 83: the reload cost for the Night-Vision scope is 450g?  Should that be its Weight instead?
Lines 95-100: does this list mean the gun can carry up to 6 of each grenade?  Or should the number of shots be on line 95 to reflect that the grenade launcher has a single clip with a capacity of 6 grenades?

Armor & Combat Attire:
"Suite" should be "Suit" - lines 9, 10, 11, 14, 18

MW Combat:
A8 & G11: "Dodginig" -> "Dodging"
A10: "concelament" -> "concealment"

They want to have fun. My brother has played before, but the others are my nephews and grandchildren who are blank slates so they will simply see it as a Space Opera RPG, so anything goes as far as adventure. I plant to let them choose a character type to play and build the game around them.

Space Opera?  Sounds like you should have them do special agent type missions, where they prep a location for the follow-up Mech force, rather than getting in their own Mechs.  So they may have to sneak into the Mech Hangar and sabotage the Mechs, or put knock-out drugs into the Mechwarriors' food.  They may have to shmooze at a party to get to know the  people involved, and decide if the person who sent them on the mission was accurate, misinformed, or lying to them.  They may have to sneak into the enemy base during the fight to shut down comms and capture the enemy leader, but they have to do it before their side's Mechs get destroyed or are forced to retreat.

I'd be tempted to pull ideas from the A-Team, and add a bit of merchant prince who makes sure the group can pay its bills at the end of each mission.  So they may have to lie, cheat, and steal, but at least they got rid of the bad guy who was oppressing people

[Lazarus Sinn]

One tweak that would be nice to make is on the "Equipment" tab, cells A27 through G34.  The power points per gram (kilo or otherwise) needs to be a little more consistent.  For example, the Military power pack needs 20 grams to store a point of power, while the Micro only needs 1 gram to store 1 point of power.  I'd recommend dropping the Micro Power Cell to only store 1 point of power, and increase the battery life of equipment that uses Micro Power Cells (i.e. radios).

On Weapons tab:
Line 51, the Pulse Laser Pistol says that it uses 2 pts of power per shot, yet a Burst that fires 5 shots uses 15 pts of power.
Lines 65-67: the 200g grenade and the 600g grenade both have the same range when thrown.  Should the lighter grenade get more range, or does its small size actually cause greater wind resistance for its mass?
Line 83: the reload cost for the Night-Vision scope is 450g?  Should that be its Weight instead?
Lines 95-100: does this list mean the gun can carry up to 6 of each grenade?  Or should the number of shots be on line 95 to reflect that the grenade launcher has a single clip with a capacity of 6 grenades?

Armor & Combat Attire:
"Suite" should be "Suit" - lines 9, 10, 11, 14, 18

MW Combat:
A8 & G11: "Dodginig" -> "Dodging"
A10: "concelament" -> "concealment"


Space Opera?  Sounds like you should have them do special agent type missions, where they prep a location for the follow-up Mech force, rather than getting in their own Mechs.  So they may have to sneak into the Mech Hangar and sabotage the Mechs, or put knock-out drugs into the Mechwarriors' food.  They may have to shmooze at a party to get to know the  people involved, and decide if the person who sent them on the mission was accurate, misinformed, or lying to them.  They may have to sneak into the enemy base during the fight to shut down comms and capture the enemy leader, but they have to do it before their side's Mechs get destroyed or are forced to retreat.

I'd be tempted to pull ideas from the A-Team, and add a bit of merchant prince who makes sure the group can pay its bills at the end of each mission.  So they may have to lie, cheat, and steal, but at least they got rid of the bad guy who was oppressing people

I will check the errors. I do not know what they want to play yet. The current generation tends to not have the attention span to play traditional mech combat. If they want to, I am all in, but I will cater to how/what they want.

I tend to play fast and loose with the details in the rules if I see I am losing them or if the rules would ruin the "cool factor" in game play. If someone comes up with a spectacular play that would add excitement or result in a "back in 3017..." type story I will let it succeed even if it means bending the rules a bit. It is all about the fun.

[Daryk]

Even though you're not using AToW, it might be worth looking at the various modules for ideas.  The rules are flexible enough to give you everything from your bog standard military types, to academics, to cops, to mafiosi, to politicians... the whole nine yards!

[Lazarus Sinn]

Even though you're not using AToW, it might be worth looking at the various modules for ideas.  The rules are flexible enough to give you everything from your bog standard military types, to academics, to cops, to mafiosi, to politicians... the whole nine yards!

I will check it out. Thanks.