Maverick Hunter Quest RPG Core Rules Document

Home , Maverick Hunter, Mega Man (Archie Comics), Mega Man X, Mega Man X (character), Sigma (Mega Man X), Zero (Mega Man)

A Homebrew of a Homebrew

Edited and amended by Jack

From the original document by guy_with_the_parrot

After consultation with (and input from) fellow Maverick Hunter Quest RPG players

But not from Capcom 2

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION Preface ...... 4 Maverick Hunter Life ...... 5 Maverick Hunter Units ...... 7 Maverick Hunter Bases ...... 9

Chapter 1: SYSTEMS Required Materials ...... 10 How to Play ...... 10 Example Round ...... 12 Character Creation in Brief ...... 14 Determining HP and AP...... 14 Character Creation Data by Starting Rank ...... 15 Rank or Class ...... 15 Rank Promotion ...... 18 Specialist Slots ...... 19 Core System ...... 20 Abilities ...... 20 Specialist Weapons ...... 21 VWES ...... 22 Attributes ...... 24 Skills ...... 25 Frame ...... 26 Example Frame: Anode ...... 28 Armor ...... 29 Shield Battery ...... 31

Chapter 2: SUB-SYSTEMS EAS ...... 33 Flight ...... 35 3

Flight System Examples ...... 36 Heart and Sub-Tanks ...... 36 Creating Weapons ...... 37 Upgrading Weapons and Abilities ...... 37 Unarmed ...... 38 Sabers: Low-Phase vs. High-Phase ...... 39 Charging ...... 39 Multiple-AP Actions ...... 39 Dash Melee ...... 40 Elements ...... 40 Creating Gear ...... 41 Hand-Held Shields ...... 42 Hardpoints ...... 43 Stealth ...... 44 Unpredictability ...... 45 Cover ...... 45 Command ...... 46 Structural Failures ...... 47

Chapter 3: LISTS Attribute List ...... 49 Skill List ...... 51 General Actions ...... 60 Armor Specialist Traits ...... 61 Shield Battery Specialist Traits ...... 63 Equipment Traits ...... 65 Example Weapons ...... 68 Example Gear ...... 70 Command Units ...... 71 Zenny Rewards ...... 72 Example Character Sheets ...... 73 GM Notes and Recommendations ...... 79 4

INTRODUCTION

Preface My name is Jack, and I took it upon myself to edit this RPG core rules document.

Why?

 I played this game and found it was great, yet in need of an edit

 I was bored and wanted something to do

 I enjoy rules

 Where else but MHQ will we get new Mega Man X content that isn’t a crossover?

Sometimes I’ve only edited miscellaneous grammar. Sometimes I’ve added minor bolds and indents for clarity and flow. Other times I’ve added new sections, developed by fellow players and me.

The purpose of these edits was to make a firmer foundation for future games. I hope I’ve achieved that.

So let’s get to it.

Maverick Hunter Life The Maverick Hunters are an international paramilitary organization under the auspices of the United Nations. They are beholden to international law and diplomacy, and cannot act in complete independence of world governments. They are not technically a standing army, but a battle-ready institution of specialists dedicated to eliminating the Maverick threat for everlasting peace.

You are one of them.

A Hunter’s work is never done. Humans may serve until discharged, but reploids (a super-majority among Hunters) typically serve for life. After all, every reploid Hunter was either designed for battle or has upgraded into battle-worthiness. Departure for reploid Hunters is not unprecedented – even those built specifically for their job are not slaves to it – but upon being discharged, they undergo downgrades before being reintegrated into society.

Many Hunter operatives take to the field with only a navigator at best, but you do not – at least not anymore. You are placed on a team of other Hunters who participate in missions together, for reasons specific to the campaign. Perhaps your team is made of fresh new recruits, oddball specialists, or experienced middleweights. You might be tight-knit survivors of an attack who joined the Hunters together, former non-combatants reassigned in a time of great need, or newly constructed officers sent on shakedown as a team. Maybe you’ve been assembled to help a general war effort, clean up other Hunters’ failed missions, or hunt agents of a dangerous new Maverick group. Your GM will decide the exact nature of your team and your tasks for a given campaign.

In a campaign, your team is periodically given a roster of missions from which to choose. Missions always involve a new location with the presence or suspected presence of significant Mavericks to neutralize. A new roster may have from two to eight selectable missions. Priority and difficulty ratings are noted in each mission brief, but the order in which you handle them is at your team’s discretion. Sometimes, new intelligence gathered on a roster mission reveals a side mission; side missions may be time-sensitive, offer valuable resources, tie into a teammate’s past, or anything else, but they tend to expand the narrative beyond 6 mere “seek and destroy.” On rare occasions, emergency missions may arise which completely interrupt your roster; these must be handled before any further selection can occur. The completion of a roster typically signals a narrative shift to a Maverick Base: a facility with a series of areas tackled in an order set by the GM, rife with powerful enemies that often put your roster targets to shame. After clearing a Maverick Base, if your team remains together, you will receive a new roster and a new campaign will begin.

A roster’s typical flow follows a cycle: Mission, Upgrade, Downtime, Mission. After a mission, Hunters are paid in zenny and given options to upgrade their capabilities. After upgrades, Hunters are allowed time to recharge, relax, and recuperate before their next mission. Hunters may use this downtime for training, socializing, hobbies, shenanigans, or any combination thereof. Role-playing out of combat is largely freeform, though you may be called upon to roll against this or that attribute or skill, depending on what you get up to.

If your campaign is set in a period of serious wartime – as opposed to normal combat footing – available downtime will be diminished, and your superiors will encourage you in no uncertain terms to dedicate most of it to mission preparation.

If your campaign is set in a peacetime lull – rare indeed – your roster may include assignments. Assignments are tasks requiring armed oversight, such as patrols or procurement runs. No assignment guarantees Maverick activity, yet all of them inevitably go sour and involve combat.

Regardless of the campaign’s setting, there is rarely such a shortage of Maverick activity that Hunter Command can spare trained specialists for “public work” such as escorting cargo down a highway or building bridges in a border zone. Workers, security groups, private contractors, and local governments can handle that.

You are not here to do civilian jobs.

You are here to hunt Mavericks. 7

Maverick Hunter Units The Maverick Hunters are comprised of eighteen divisions called Units, numbered 0-17. Every Unit has its own specialized officers. Some Units, such as 4th Overland, have rank-and-file soldiers suited to the Unit’s areas of operation. Other Units, such as 14th Grapple, are entirely officer-grade due to the specialization and skill required of their tactical role.

0th Shinobi is a special reserve force dedicated to handling top-priority assignments with a short duration or deadline, and are granted near-unlimited license for collateral damage.

1st Advance officers are dispatched to open theaters of battle, fighting in blitzkrieg rushes to pave the way for heavy reinforcement.

2nd Reconnaissance handles the dangerous task of expeditionary research in the field, identifying and analyzing Mavericks and gathering data for tactical use.

3rd Deploy Corps has the special duty of bringing equipment, mechaniloids, and heavy weaponry into combat zones and making it ready-to-use.

4th Overland, the largest Unit, is a dedicated ground force capable of quickly mobilizing infantry and vehicles of multiple tactical strengths, often in tandem with other Units.

5th Communications coordinates Hunter activity, relays vital intelligence, and provides remote assistance to Hunters in the field through its underappreciated Navigators.

6th Marine Armada specializes in all forms of water deployment, whether as coast guards, waterway patrols, or deep within the ocean.

7th Air Cavalry operates Hunter aviation and aerial superiority missions.

8th Armored Battalion supports other Units with Ride Armors and heavy-defense officers to divert and absorb Maverick fire. They were famously crippled by Sigma’s forces. 8

9th Special Forces (Ranger) specializes in environmental strategy, combining stealth with guerrilla tactics to locate and take out targets quickly in rural or wilderness areas.

10th Special Forces (Civic) worked in urban areas of high-priority infrastructure with reduction of collateral damage as its highest mandate, until it was entirely wiped out by Maverick forces in the immediate aftermath of the Day of Sigma. Relaunching the Unit with more than a small handful of officers has been a politically difficult task.

11th Space Command is vigorous in its defense of orbital space, working autonomously to prevent or neutralize any Maverick space launches while supporting the Air Cavalry.

12th Tropical Region officers are optimized for long-duration performance in torrid heat and/or equatorial humidity, providing response and support anywhere in their territory with surprising alacrity. A few remain at the main Maverick Hunter bases as “officers in residence.”

13th Polar Region is divided between two outposts monitoring the poles, but its officers are optimized for long-duration performance in any extremely cold environment. Like 12th, some officers may be found around the main bases to help coordinate.

14th Grapple Combat, the smallest Unit, specializes in high-risk takedowns of high-value targets, closing with small numbers and engaging directly, with or without external support.

15th Artillery Command brings powerful ranged bombardment to the battlefield. Its officers routinely work in pairs, one to spot and mark targets and one to supply destruction.

16th Research and Development develops reploids specifically geared to Hunter needs, as well as advanced tech to serve the war effort. They do their level best to reverse-engineer the upgrades that X himself occasionally finds left behind by Dr. Light in times of crisis.

17th Elite serves as emergency response to Maverick outbreaks and assistance to high- value missions. They also have the unhappy task of hunting some of the most dangerous Mavericks: traitors to the Hunters.

As Hunters, you and your allies work for one of these Units. You may all belong to the same Unit, or you could be a team drawn from multiple Units. Your campaign will make it clear. 9

Maverick Hunter Bases Bases are the nerve centers of all Maverick Hunter administration and operations, hosting large numbers of Hunters from most if not all Units. Teleportation (by point-to-point warp-field transmission) trivializes joint efforts, but in order to maximize efficiency and geographic readiness, most units have at least a token representation at each individual HQ.

There were three Bases on the Day of Sigma. They served the Hunters and the whole world for many years before any more were needed.

Maverick Hunter Headquarters (HQ1), located in Geneva, Switzerland, is the command center for the entire organization. It is the first and largest Base, and serves as the operations hub for the majority of all Units.

Maverick Hunter Headquarters Americas (HQ2) is located in Veracruz, Mexico. The HQ2 campus is immediately adjacent to the largest shipyard in Central America as well as the region’s most secure spaceport.

Maverick Hunter Headquarters Japan (HQ3) is built over and around the site of the former Kisarazu Air Field in Kisarazu, Japan. It lies straight across Tokyo Bay from the major manufacturing city of Yokohama.

By the time of the Giga City conflict, the Far East HQ was built in Jakarta, Indonesia. It protected and managed the adjacent Orbital Elevator Babel, ensuring its smooth operation.

Outposts are much smaller than Bases, typically serving the needs of only a single Unit. The details of Outposts are completely in the hands of the GM. Locations such as Airport 1001 and the Enigma Cannon were Outposts.

The Base or Outpost from which you operate will depend entirely on your campaign. Although it is

your workplace, in time it may feel like home. 10

Chapter 1: SYSTEMS

Required Materials A set of dice including a d4, d6, and d20. A coin with a clearly marked heads or tails. A hexagonal or gridded play map. A pen or pencil, preferably the latter. Space to mark character notes. Electronic equivalents of any or all of these will work too.

Note that maps play a heavy part in this game, true to the Mega Man stage style, to the point where it is close to a table top miniature game when in combat.

How to Play The game follows a typical pattern: description by the GM, action by the players, and resolution by the rules and GM.

Actions that don’t involve moving or firing weapons are handled with skill rolls versus a d20. An action succeeds by rolling a number at or below the combined point value of the skill in question and the attribute under which it falls. For example, with an Evade Melee skill value of 10 under the Mobility attribute value of 2, you must roll a 12 or lower to succeed at evading a melee blow. Sometimes, the degree of success is important; for example, if two skill rolls are aiming for 10 or less, and if one rolls a 7 while the other rolls a 2, then the 2 has a higher degree of success because it came in further below the goal.

Combat is round-based, with one round lasting until all Action Points held by all participating units are spent. An Action Point is spent to either move, attack, or perform a different action. Each Action Point is its own phase of declaration and resolution, called an AP Instant or simply “AP.” All actions in one AP happen simultaneously. In each AP, the players declare their next action and make any necessary roll, then the GM sorts out the data and describes the result. During this time, the GM also sets the AP of participating enemy units; fortunately, the Mega Man franchise lends itself well to minor enemies with canned 11 movement/action patterns. The GM may use or overwrite set patterns at will, but bosses are typically more dynamic than minions.

Distance is measured in five feet per grid square or hexagon. Weapon fire has a set range on the grid, whether shaped in lines, arcs, rectangles, or cones. Accuracy within that range is a base 100%; accuracy beyond is 0%. However, factors such as evasion, cover, or a target moving out of range during an AP may influence accuracy by requiring skill checks. Weapon ranges may also include a smaller Threat range; Threat range affects certain weapon traits, and may add a bonus or effect to damage dealt within it. If a weapon has a Threat range but no bonus or effect for it, then you may add one by upgrading. Melee has no Threat range.

Movement, at a base speed of ten feet (or two spaces), costs 1 AP. Dash actions, which offer greater movement distance, also cost 1 AP, but they can’t be used more than a set number of times per round, and dashing requires certain hardware (see EAS, p.33). Base height for jumping is twice the reploid’s height. (Dash systems can multiply this.)

If you fire a line-of-sight weapon, then all tiles between you and the target are Under Fire for the AP in which you fire. The shot will strike whatever object is on the nearest available tile Under Fire. Therefore, anyone or anything else on an Under Fire tile between you and your target will take the shot instead. If your shot misses your target and hits nothing else along the way, then all tiles out to your weapon’s maximum range become Under Fire from it. Weapons which fire in a vertical arc put only the target’s tile Under Fire. Horizontally-arcing weapons behave like a “bent” line of sight.

Firing weapons may cost 1 AP or more. A Specialist Weapon, for instance, may cost 3 AP to fire, or a weapon could be charged for multiple AP to deliver a bigger hit. Performing certain non-offensive actions such as field repair or security hacking may also cost multiple AP. A given weapon or skill may use more than 1 AP in one AP Instant at a certain cost, such as rendering the action unusable for the duration of its AP value (see Multiple-AP Actions, p.39-40).

After the last AP by a unit participating in the round is spent, the round is over, and all AP is renewed for the next round. Characters start with a minimum 6 AP before any considerations add to or subtract from it. 12

Example Round Hunters A and B face Mavericks Y and Z. Each of them has 6 AP.

AP1: A moves 10 feet (two tiles). B fires his buster at Y. Y takes damage and fires back, damaging B. Z wants to eliminate B as quickly as possible, so she hits him with a powerful special weapon costing 3 AP with a “Lock” trait. The Lock trait serves as a common drawback to very strong weapons, and renders Z idle for the length of its value. Z now has -2 AP.

AP2: A sees that B is hurting, but she knows that Z will need a few AP to recover, so A dashes to block Y’s line-of-sight weapon. B falls back, moving 10 feet. Y fires on B again, but since A is in his way, A takes the hit instead. Z, meanwhile, has -1 AP, and can do nothing.

AP3: A assaults Y with a 1 AP weapon, a beam saber. B fires at Z, and Z takes damage. Y, having the Evade Melee skill, rolls to check, and successfully evades A’s attack. Y then spends 2 AP for his special weapon, which happens to force A into a Structural Strength skill check or else she’ll suffer a knockdown; A takes damage, fails her check, and falls to her back, where she can make no movement action. Z, meanwhile, has 0 AP, and can do nothing.

AP4: A uses this AP to get back up rather than stay down and be immobile. B fires at Z, and Z takes damage. Y’s special weapon has the Cooldown trait, meaning it cannot be used for the duration of its AP value, so he can’t use it; instead he fires a sidearm at A for 1 AP. Z’s idle state ends and she can act again, so she fires on A as well. A takes damage from both of them just as she rises to her feet.

AP5: A, feeling the pressure, dashes to cover. B fires at Z, and Z takes damage. Y fires at A, but since A is in transit to cover, Y must pass a check on his Retreating Target skill. He fails the roll, and the shot fails to connect. Z is now rather tired of B shooting her, so she wants to use another 3 AP special weapon to punish him, but she only has 2 AP remaining. Fortunately, she has a charge function on her sidearm, so she spends this AP charging it.

AP6: A has reached cover, so she briefly pops out from behind it to shoot Y. B shoots Z yet again, determined to wear her down. Y dashes around A’s cover, regaining his line of sight 13 on her. Z releases her charged shot and rolls high enough to hit B for double her sidearm’s normal rate of damage.

With all AP spent, the round ends. Everyone regains their AP and the next round begins. The battle continues until a defeat condition is met, which is usually the destruction of all units on one allied side.

A round cannot end with negative AP, nor can AP from one round be saved to use as more AP in another round.

Using AP wisely is therefore vital.

Character Creation in Brief The first step of character creation is, as it should be with any role-playing game, the formation of a character concept. Every player will come to a concept differently; perhaps you like to extrapolate from lore, emphasize one particular game mechanic, translate an existing character concept, or come up with a name first and go from there.

Once you have a character concept, you receive a certain number of Specialist Slots, Attribute Points, and Skill Points depending on your starting Rank. Next you devise your Specialist Weapons and Abilities, both of which are limited in number by your Specialist Slots. You then select a Frame for your body, which will determine the limits of your future physical upgrades. Finally, you select and customize your type of Armor, and customize your Shield Battery. As an additional option, you may choose an Element. If you do, you are immune to damage of that element, and your primary weapon is designed to deal 2x damage to enemies vulnerable to it. However, you must then select an element which will deal 2x damage against you (see Elements, p.40-41).

Determining HP and AP A character’s health starts at a base of 8 Hit Points (HP). Every point in the Physicality attribute above 3 adds 4 HP, and every point under 3 subtracts 2 HP. Additionally, every point in the Structural Strength skill adds 2 HP. One type of Armor can also add HP, but Armor customization will add to your Structural Strength skill rather than to HP directly.

The maximum theoretical HP for a player character is 60. 8 (base) + 12 (Physicality 6) + 16 (Structural Strength 8) + 4 (Light Armor) + 16 (Armor “Architecture” trait x4) + 4 (Heart Tank) = 60. It would take a very significant investment in time and resources to reach that high.

Action Points start at a base of 6. Each point of the Mobility attribute over 3 adds 1 AP, and each point under 3 reduces it by 1. While Armor options or other equipment do not add more AP points directly, some can reduce the AP costs of some actions, or make them free in certain circumstances. 15

Character Creation Data by Starting Rank This table contains all points to allocate at character creation, as well as slots to fill, per starting Rank (or, for Maverick characters, Class). Explanations of each column follow.

Specialist Slots Abilities Maximum Values for Rank Each Starting Skill, Maximum Attribute Skill or By Total Maximum (Abilities + (Required VWES Slots Points Points Class Sp.Weapons) Minimum) 5 8 10 12 15

P 10 5 8 26 150 - - - - -

G 7 2 8 24 80 - - - - -

S / SA 5 2 6 21 70 - - - - -

A 4 1 4 19 45 4 5 5 6 7

B 3 1 4 18 35 3 4 5 5 6

C 2 1 2 17 29 3 3 4 5 5

D 1 - 1 15 23 3 3 3 4 5

E - - - 14 18 2 3 3 3 4

Rank or Class Rank is a broad, abstract expression of a Maverick Hunter’s ability to eliminate Maverick threats, prevent loss of civilian life, and minimize damage to civic infrastructure. Mavericks are grouped by Class on the same scale. A B-Class Maverick, for instance, is roughly equivalent to a B-Rank Hunter, therefore one B-Rank Hunter is usually enough to defeat it under normal conditions. However, many factors may provide favorable odds to you or your foe, including but not limited to: backup or minions; environmental types or conditions; quality of intel; individual affinity toward preparedness, resourcefulness, or risk; and weaponry, defenses, or fighting style matching well or poorly.

Your Rank is not everything you are, but rather a means to discern which missions are generally on your level. Teams routinely take on threats of a Class above any one of their 16 members’ Ranks. Depending on your campaign, your GM may require you to start at a certain Rank, or offer bonuses for starting below a suggested Rank.

Rank E is reserved for essential non-combat personnel such as navigators, engineers, first responders, repair technicians, fabrication/manufacture/construction laborers, and public relations teams. These are units to protect, for the Maverick Hunters could not function without them, but they are not in and of themselves meant to combat the Maverick threat.

Rank D is where combat begins, typically carried out by mass-production reploids and armed humans with mechaniloid assistance, as well as reploids custom-built for civilian jobs who signed up to make a difference by fighting. Combat-specific reploids found here are mostly Lance Teamer models who, despite their age, have either little combat experience or outstanding maintenance issues. It’s not inconceivable for a campaign to focus on Hunters of this Rank, though their exploits will be relatively minor and seldom make international news.

Rank C holds previous D-Ranks who have upgraded and/or acquitted themselves well, advanced mass-production combat reploids such as Steel Berets, and strong public-sector reploids seeking a new career. It is quite viable to run a campaign about C-Rank Hunters, as a team of them is capable of taking on most common threats through planning, coordination, and combined effort. It is said that a C-Rank with sufficient prep time may pull off great and surprising victories against superior foes.

Rank B generally consists of inexperienced or middle-strength commissioned officers, which the Maverick Hunters routinely order from trusted robotics firms. Among them are seasoned human Hunters, older mass production models with exemplary combat records, and specialized industrial-sector reploids outfitted for combat. It is generally advisable to start new players at this Rank, as it is the point where most Hunters can stand alone in a variety of dangerous situations without being powerful enough to trivialize them.

Rank A is the highest achievable rank for human Maverick Hunter personnel, and the threshold that separates the impressive from the inconceivable. Human aces, highly skilled former B-Ranks, and strong reploid officers built for and/or by the Hunters are found here. These are the members who represent the combat ideals of the organization, capable of 17 reliably taking on Maverick threats of A-Class or lower alone, and cleared to attempt live capture of the same. If a GM desires a high-powered campaign while still maintaining a feeling of progression, this is where to begin. A full A-Rank team can tackle truly dangerous missions of high strategic value.

The following ranks represent the truly mighty, the reploids of legend who are capable of feats beyond any mere human.

Rank S (“Special,” also called SA) holds some of the Maverick Hunters’ very best operatives, several of international renown. Mavericks of Class S are too dangerous for any human Hunter, however well trained or equipped. It is said that no one can build an S-Rank; their power, beyond any human’s ability to match, is a combination of superlative skill and training more than any weapon they may wield. Teams of S-Ranks are practically unheard-of except when scrambled to respond to rare, large-scale emergencies. Any campaign specifically about them would be quite difficult to write, as only the very strongest Mavericks would pose a challenge to an S team.

Rank G (“Great” or “Grand”) is a step above S, not an aspirational goal but a statement of fact. G-Ranks are among the most powerful reploids in existence, designed and built around a severely destructive weapon system or profoundly dangerous ability more than a personality. Whether serving as national-defense deterrents or Hunter operatives, they exist because of, and for the use of, war. The few who exist are all in the upper echelons of the Maverick Hunters, and they are the only Hunters cleared to engage a G-Class Maverick alone. They do not form teams with other G-Ranks unless and until the fate of the world is at stake.

Class P (“Perfect”) Mavericks put the fate of the world at stake by merely existing. Under their own power they can destroy any and all life they desire. Fortunately, they are rare; the last (and only) publicly known P-Class Maverick was Sigma. This Class has no equivalent Rank in the Hunters. Standard protocol for dealing with a P-Class is to immediately and completely evacuate its location, then bombard it with “P-Rank” weapons of mass destruction specially designed for the purpose. Combat engagement is prohibited to all personnel.

Rank Promotion Now, how do you advance in Rank?

Over the course of the campaign, you will receive additional Attribute Points (p.24) and Skill Points (p.25) beyond what you have when you start as a particular Rank (p.15). First, raise your total number of both points to the starting level of the next highest Rank. Then, if your combat capability is sufficiently well-rounded – if you haven’t over-specialized such that you have a catastrophic weakness or a very limited means of assault – you will be promoted.

What benefits come from achieving higher Ranks? New promotees receive a one-time bonus gift: a minor upgrade, free standard weapon, or small purse of zenny. The chief reward, however, is access to more dangerous and higher-paying missions. Power earns responsibility.

The Maverick Hunters do not promote for the sake of promotion. Rank is not seen as a goal in and of itself, but an acknowledgement. 19

Specialist Slots Every Hunter carries a number of Specialist Slots for their Abilities and Specialist Weapons. Each Specialist Slot is a space in your body (or your armor, if human) for a given system – sometimes hardware and sometimes software – to occupy.

Your starting number of Slots is not your cap. The only upper limit on Specialist Slots is the physical capacity of your Frame (or your armor, if human). After character generation, Frame Slots – internal physical spaces dependent on body size to hold most kinds of upgrades (see Frame, p.26) – may be converted to Specialist Slots at no cost. However, sometimes a sufficiently strong Ability or Specialist Weapon – particularly a new or upgraded one – may require a Frame Slot in addition to a Specialist Slot. Strong-enough upgrades may need a whole new Specialist or Frame Slot to fit as well. Consult your GM.

Specialist Slots must be filled by a minimum number of Abilities per Rank, but there is no required minimum for Specialist Weapons. Indeed, the only upper limit on Specialist Weapons or Abilities is your number of Slots, which, again, is limited only by what you can afford to put in your Frame.

All weapons and abilities fitted into a Specialist Slot have a location on the Frame. If that body part suffers a Structural Failure (p. 47-48), then any weapon or ability either requiring it or located in it is rendered inoperable. Of course, if a weapon or ability requires an entire Frame Slot, then the Specialist Slot that it also fills is considered to be located there.

For reploids, whatever occupies a Specialist Slot is to some degree integrated into their Dynamic Neural Array (DNA), which makes it the part that enemies covet the most. If you are a reploid, Mavericks will likely look forward to recovering whatever is in your DNA’s Specialist Slots and using it for their own. It’s only fair, since the most engaging way to upgrade yourself is to choose the best parts of defeated Mavericks’ DNA. In fact, benign integration of foreign data has been a fundamental feature of advanced robotics ever since Thomas Light and Albert Wily’s first partnership.

Core System A reploid may have one fundamental and defining feature of their character, a trademark Ability or Specialist Weapon called a Core System. A Core System is integrated without using either a Specialist or Frame Slot, but it still has a location within the Frame, making it vulnerable to a Structural Failure. Anything that is a direct branch of or upgrade to that Core System does not use a Slot, but likewise has its own Frame location. Abilities, Weapons, and other systems that leverage the Core System or a branching feature in some way, but which are not a direct upgrade of either, do not count as a Core System or branching feature, and must use a Specialist Slot (and possibly also a Frame Slot) as normal.

For example, the Core System for Maverick Hunter Quest’s protagonist Anode would be his Conduit Capacitor. Though it can be used offensively, it is technically an Ability. It has been upgraded (Increased Throttle Control) and has branching features (Kinetic Coil), but only the systems that leverage it (Raikousen, Mass Shriver) use Specialist Slots.

Abilities Each reploid player character must have a certain number of Abilities based on their Rank (but they of course may have more, the maximum of which is capped by their Specialist Slots). However, if that Ability is a Core System, it does not use a Specialist Slot.

An Ability is fundamentally an action; it can be as imaginative as the player wants, or it can be as simple as an Emergency Acceleration System (EAS) (p.33-34). Abilities may have offensive applications, such as shock waves, forcefields, or a weaponized EAS, or they may be pure utility such as jetpacks, mobile cover deployment, or spotter drone systems. Any Ability is given stats and rules by the GM after review and/or consulting the player.

What makes an Ability an Ability, exactly? When devising a special action, ask yourself two questions: “Can I activate it at will?” “Does it deal damage by itself?” If the answer to one or both is “No,” then it’s an Ability. If the answer to both is “Yes,” then it’s a Specialist Weapon. 21

Specialist Weapons Specialist Weapons are your primary offensive capability, most often generated by a matter-replicator WEAPON System drawing from a cold-fusion LIFE Core. Most such weapons are unique to you, and were likely designed specifically for your individual Frame. Indeed, you probably have an emitter for one or more of these weapons built directly into a body part.

There is no limit to the number of Specialist Weapons that you may have in your possession, but you can only equip so much at one time. Swapping equipment may be done before or after a mission, not during.

Even if it’s only a particularly powerful type of gun or beam saber that you can pick up and lay down, the skilled operation of a Specialist Weapon has been hard-coded into your DNA. No one can use it quite like you. The best that someone else can do is emulate its form and try

to use it well.

VWES A Variable Weapon Emulator System (VWES) replicates the Specialist Weapon data of any other reploid, whether bought between missions or gained by defeating an enemy. Most Hunters have one.

VWESs have a maximum number of slots allowed per Rank. The most common are two-slot (VWES-2) and four-slot (VWES-4), but other sizes are available. The largest, VWES-8, is exceptionally rare. It was first held only by X himself, but later held by the specially-designed G-Rank Commander Rhodes. Due to the nature of DNA emulation and the limits of 21XX technology, the difficulty and expense of increasing VWES slots increases exponentially with each slot after 4. Even making a VWES-6 is exceptionally hard.

A VWES of any size must be wired to a particular weapon, such as a buster, specialist melee weapon, or mountable device. If your VWES weapon is integrated into your body, such as a buster, it already takes up at least one Frame Slot (p.26) and requires no further slots to fit the VWES. However, if your VWES weapon is a specialist melee weapon that may be put down and picked up, such as a powerful lance or saber, it must take up at least one Specialist Slot in addition to the Specialist Slot required to have such a weapon in the first place. Finally, if your VWES is wired to a device mounted on a hardpoint, it must take up one of the Specialist Slots specifically granted by that hardpoint.

A GM may make starting with a VWES standard for a campaign. In campaigns where they are not standard, you may purchase a VWES-2 for one or two Skill Points at character creation, pending GM approval. You may also purchase a VWES-2 afterward for 30,000 zenny, upgrade a VWES-2 to a VWES-4 for 50,000 zenny, or simply purchase a VWES-4 outright from nothing for 75,000 zenny. Upgrading beyond VWES-4 requires increasingly exorbitant costs per 23 slot, often needing newly-acquired Skill Points, Maverick DNA, and/or other conditions in addition to mere zenny.

VWES-1 and 3 are earlier, uncommon, derivative models, largely redundant because they have the same installation requirements as a VWES-2 or 4. VWES-1s tend to sell for only 15,000 zenny, but the Maverick Hunters do not allow their sale except as encouragement to especially promising D-Ranks as a means to groom them for greater responsibility. A VWES-3 is a similar non-standard relic made by binding a VWES-1 to a VWES-2. The Hunters will gladly sell you a VWES-2, but you will need to seek an approved specialist mechanic for a VWES-3 and have a very good reason to not just get a 4.

Between missions, you may choose to give up your full VWES to gain back its required Frame or Specialist Slots. The VWES is still yours, however, and does not need to be purchased again. You may resell it for half its cost or keep it in reserve in case you want to install it again someday.

To use more than one Specialist Weapon or Ability from a defeated Maverick as a VWES entity, you must install them separately. However, few if any will be made available after the initial upgrade selection. If you want two bites at a given DNA, first you take the one you’ve earned, and then – if such an action is allowed in a given case – pay a hefty fee for another.

Attributes There are six starting attributes reflecting your physical and mental faculties, on which to spend your Rank’s assigned Attribute Points at character creation. The minimum value of each Attribute is 2 points and the maximum at character creation is limited to 5. No Attribute value may be 0. However, Frame Sizes below Average are permitted to drop Physicality to 1, and size classes above Towering may choose to drop two of the following three Attribute values to 1: A&C, TI, Reflex.

Attribute stats are difficult to raise. Available Attribute Points increase only through buying expensive choice-limiting upgrades or reclaiming data from the final boss of a campaign. Each attribute has a passive Capstone Ability, gained when a given attribute reaches its total maximum of 6 points by either of those means.

Analytics and Command (A&C) is your ability to process, interpret, and relay information.

Mobility is your ability to maneuver, as well as your kinesthetic intelligence.

Physicality is your physical strength, durability, and mass.

Reflex is your ability to immediately process an event and react accordingly.

Technical Inclination (TI) is your grasp of common design concepts as well as how to repair, replace, and jury-rig substitutes.

Unpredictability is your ability to surprise or dupe the enemy, and to come out ahead on risks.

Refer to the Attribute List (p.49-51) for the full details of each.

Skills Each player begins with a number of Skill Points dictated by their starting Rank. All skill checks are a d20 roll; a successful roll is equal to or lesser than the combined value of the skill’s value plus the skill’s Attribute value. For example: with an Evade Melee skill value of 10, under the Mobility attribute value of 2, you must roll 12 or less to succeed at evading a melee blow.

Skill Points are much more available than Attribute Points. You gain at least one Skill Point after every retired Maverick boss.

If you possess a skill which is an action that costs no AP to use, you may use it only once per AP instant. If you have multiple such skills, you may use only one of them per AP Instant.

Refer to the following chart for the skill maximums upon character creation for your Rank. Those marked with dashes indicate a lack of any maximum skill value on creation.

Maximum Values for Each Starting Skill, Rank By Total Maximum 5 8 10 12 15

P - - - - -

G - - - - -

S / SA - - - - -

A 4 5 5 6 7

B 3 4 5 5 6

C 3 3 4 5 5

D 3 3 3 4 5

E 2 3 3 3 4

Refer to the Skill List (p.52-59) for the full list and details of each Skill per Attribute.

Refer also to the list of General Actions (p.60) – skills which have no point value and may be used by anyone. 26

Frame After assigning Attribute and Skill Points, select a Frame. Frames have a certain number of internal slots for upgrades depending on Frame Size. When Frame Slots are full, no further upgrades requiring them can occur. The normal slot counts by Frame Size are listed below; unconventional body types and any human-tailored armor may receive different schemes of slots, pending GM approval.

Slots Frame Size Examples Head Body Arm Leg Mega Man, most Tiny 1 2 1 1 Robot Masters Infinity Mijinion, Small 1 2 1 2 Emerald X, Zero, Vile, Average 1 2 2 2 Chill Penguin Wire Sponge, Bulky 2 3 2 2 Anode Storm Eagle, Large 2 3 3 3 Sigma (X1 body) Spark Mandrill, Towering 2 4 3 3 Launch Octopus

Massive 3 4 3 4 Flame Mammoth

Huge or Frost Walrus, 4 4 4 4 above Rainy Turtloid

It should be noted that each individual arm and leg have the count of slots noted, but any upgrade with functionality mirrored in both arms or both legs – which is the vast majority – must take one slot in each paired limb.

Frames modify Skill Points gained from Maverick or boss kills. Average Frame Size gains an additional Skill Point on top of the usual boss reward every 4 bosses, Small gains an extra after every 2 bosses, and Tiny gets a double Skill Point rate. Furthermore, Tiny and Small Frame Sizes are permitted to drop their Physicality attribute to 1 rather than 2, and Towering and above may choose to drop two of the following three attributes below 2: A&C, Reflex, TI. 27

Frame Sizes also affect Unpredictability generated each round (see Unpredictability, p.45), determine what size of Cover is effective (see Cover, p.45), and govern the distance of a successful knockback (see Equipment Traits, p.65). Finally, Frame determines the amount of Gear, such as non-Specialist weapons or consumable bonuses, which you can carry at one time (see Creating Gear, p.41-42, and Example Gear, p.70). The number of your Gear slots is the number of your Body Frame Slots.

Reploids tend to have ample upgrade space due to the incessant march of technology. By the time a new high-end reploid has completed all reliability and combat testing, they are already running to catch up. Even mass-produced models are designed with “room to grow” rather than altering the assembly lines every month. Bigger Frames are therefore greater long- term investments, for how much they could potentially pack in. (Arsenal and skill are different things, of course; an absurdly well-armed A-Rank could easily underperform a seasoned S.)

While bigger Frames may have some bigger numbers, they make for bigger targets. They tend to be able to take more abuse and dish more out, but will find themselves the focus of more of it in turn and have more trouble evading it. In addition, big reploids are targets of a different kind: Maverick forces often tag them for recruitment, infection, or live capture.

Mavericks as a whole tend to skew larger in size than Hunters by virtue of favoring power and technological evolution more than human conceptions of service and restraint.

Example Frame: Anode Maverick Hunter Quest’s protagonist Anode has a Bulky Frame. As such, he has three Body slots (which gave him three Gear slots) and two slots each for Head, Arms, and Legs. Let’s take a look at the state of his Frame as of Season 2’s midpoint, the Istanbul Emergency Mission.

His Conduit Capacitor was a Core System, so it took up no slot of any kind, but it had a location in his Body. When his Body suffered a Structural Failure (i.e. the fist of Dr. Doppler), his Core System was rendered inoperable (by way of being removed). A branching feature of his C.Capacitor was his Kinetic Coil, but being a branching feature, it required no slot of any kind, nor did the Increased Throttle Control direct upgrade to the C.Capacitor itself.

Anode (eventually) installed the Saetos Jumpjet, which cost one Body Frame Slot in addition to one Specialist Slot. A significant upgrade to the Jumpjet was a set of Inline Air Intakes in Anode’s torso chassis, which took another Body slot. A major functional upgrade to the Jumpjet itself, “Blueshift,” took one Specialist Slot but not a Body slot, as the device was already installed.

Anode started his career with an Emergency Acceleration System, which took up one Leg slot in both legs as well as one Specialist Slot (see EAS, p.33-34). His other Leg slot in both legs was taken by the hardware necessary for the Raikousen offensive dash technique.

One Frame Slot in each of Anode’s arms was filled by his auto-busters. The Mass Shriver system, however, only required one Specialist Slot – not one per arm, but one for the Ability itself – because it was fundamentally software for pre-existing electrical infrastructure. By contrast, Anode’s OPAL scanner required one Head slot but no Specialist Slot. Like both of his auto-busters, OPAL was Gear, but it was integrated directly into his body.

What filled his Gear slots? The Ascent Lance, Flash-Freeze Misericorde, and a spare E-Battery. In total, Anode had 0/4 Specialist Slots, 1/3 Body slots, 1/2 Arm slots, 0/2 Leg slots, 1/2 Head slots, and 0/3 Gear slots remaining at the time the mission began. 29

Armor Each character starts with one of three common Armor Types with which to mitigate physical trauma. Light Type grants +4 HP, whereas Medium and Heavy grant Damage Reduction (DR). Every point of DR completely negates one point of damage.

Armor also carries a Brittleness Value. Weapons with the Break trait can deal damage against that value, provided that the damage isn’t blocked by DR. Your armor may wither under abuse until its Brittleness Value reaches 0. When that happens, its DR vanishes. Additionally, every subsequent blow you suffer – regardless of its damage – requires a new Structural Failure roll (see Structural Failures, p.47-48).

Refer to the following chart to select your Armor Type.

Type Protection Mobility Brittleness Value

Heavy 2 DR -1 AP 9

Medium 1 DR Standard 12

+1 Evade Fire skill Light +4 total HP 15 +1 Evade Melee skill

Next, you may customize your armor. Depending on your Frame Size, your Armor Type will start at a particular Tier. Your Frame will never change, but you may advance in Tier after a significant cost in zenny and Skill Points you’ve earned through battle.

Refer to the following chart to customize your Armor with Armor Type Points (ATP). ATP may be refunded after every Tier upgrade and spent on a new set of traits if desired.

Note that upgrades provided by ATP may also be acquired by other means, such as a high zenny cost, Maverick DNA, or one-time consumable Gear. Consult your GM.

Tier Armor Type Maximum Cost to Upgrade (Starting Frame Size) Points Specialist Traits to Next Tier

1 30,000 zenny 3 1 (Average or below) + 2 Skill Points

2 75,000 zenny 5 2 (Bulky or Large) + 2 Skill Points

3 120,000 zenny 7 3 (Towering or Massive) + 2 Skill Points

4 10 4 N/A (Huge or above)

Refer to Armor Specialist Traits (p.61-62) for the full list and details of each.

As a lore note, armor in 21XX is made of materials only possible through the sort of science one gets when intelligent machines are allowed to eat cold fusion and humans are allowed to play with matter replicators. Polymers and nanostructures exotic and fictional to 21st century technology are commonplace. Even civilian law enforcement boasts armor that can withstand – at least for a hit or two – the thermal shear from plasma rounds. Some rare kinds of military-grade armor can swim through lava or treat missile barrages like inconvenient fog.

“Titanium X” alloy is bog standard in reploid construction. A heavy semi-ceramic form, “ceratanium,” is popular in melee weapons and shields because it makes plasma shots plink off like rain. Ceratanium spikes of molecular sharpness are a costly yet common passive security measure to deter enemy personnel.

Shield Battery A Shield Battery is an emergency life-preservation system that projects a strobing kinetic barrier generated by your LIFE Core (also found in human-tailored armor). This technology has existed ever since the first Robot Masters in order to fail-safe the LIFE Core – which is, after all, a nuclear power generator.

Your Shield Battery renders you invulnerable for 1 AP, but it will only activate if you receive damage above its Activation Threshold. When activated, your Shield Battery damages you for your Activation Threshold instead of the more damaging blow you would have received. Base damage for an Activation Threshold is 4 HP; therefore, on any hit that would deal 5 HP damage or more, you receive 4 HP damage and are invulnerable for the next AP. Some advanced mechaniloids have a Shield Battery too, but their Activation Threshold tends to be comparatively very high, so they rarely have a chance to activate before the mechaniloid in question is destroyed.

Shield Battery has a base activation rate of once per round, yet this may be increased by customization options or consumable Gear.

If your Activation Threshold is more than your remaining HP, then under normal circumstances your Shield Battery will not activate. On the hit that kills you, your Shield Battery will instead collapse your LIFE Core, killing you in a safe yet dramatic rolling explosion rather than a nuclear fireball of unacceptable collateral damage. (If you’re a human, this failsafe explosion kills you.)

Like your Armor, your Shield Battery allows for Tier-based customization based on your starting Frame size. Unlike your Armor, your Shield Battery has no starting Type to select.

Refer to the following chart to customize your Shield Battery with Shield Battery Points (SBP). SBP may be refunded after every Tier upgrade and spent on a new set of traits if desired.

Note that upgrades provided by SBP may also be acquired by other means, such as a high zenny cost, Maverick DNA, or one-time consumable Gear. Consult your GM.

Tier Shield Battery Maximum Cost to Upgrade (Starting Frame Size) Points Specialist Traits to Next Tier

1 30,000 zenny 3 1 (Average or below) + 2 Skill Points

2 75,000 zenny 5 2 (Bulky or Large) + 2 Skill Points

3 120,000 zenny 7 3 (Towering or Massive) + 2 Skill Points

4 10 4 N/A (Huge or above)

Refer to Shield Battery Specialist Traits (p.63-64) for the full list and details of each.

As a lore note, the Shield Battery doubles as a containment-and-control field for the LIFE Core. However, unlike the Core, the Battery cannot run continuously while maintaining consciousness. It therefore simulates fatigue in higher-order systems drawing from it, cueing the user’s electronic brain or other operating system that it is time for a recharge. Should these cues go ignored, the fatigue subroutine will shut down consciousness and allow the Battery to slowly recharge from the LIFE Core’s output. Recharge beds make it faster and more efficient.

Why did Dr. Light design the Shield Battery to not automatically draw its power from the LIFE Core in perpetuity? Why give robots an effectively unlimited power source, yet burden them with the need to sleep, of all things? It was for the very same reason that he gave his creations a base neural clock speed which did not greatly exceed that of the human stream of consciousness: he wanted to create a world where man and machine were equal partners in life.

Still, modifications do exist to override the fatigue and charge the Shield Battery while awake. All are dangerous. None are openly approved of by the Hunters.

Mavericks, of course, don’t care. 33

Chapter 2: SUB-SYSTEMS

EAS Hunter officers and Mavericks alike commonly come equipped with an Emergency Acceleration System (EAS) to increase their flexibility and maneuverability in combat. These systems allow for straight-line movements over a medium distance in a very short amount of time.

Each individual EAS has three modifiers: its Duration, the number of AP for which it is active; its Movement Multiplier, how much the character’s base Speed is multiplied; and its Frequency, how often it can be used in one round. For an EAS with a Duration of 2 AP or more, the user may change their direction after each AP, or simply choose not to move again. Each EAS costs a base 1 AP to fire. However, certain upgrades, Armor Type customization, or consumable Gear may remove that cost.

EAS models do not have lists of customization options like Armor Type and Shield Battery. They are what they are. However, consumable Gear can temporarily make one model act like another. Upgrading from one model to another requires the price of the new model minus half the price of your current one. Purchase wisely.

All standard EASs fill a single Leg Frame Slot in two legs. Characters with over two legs must purchase one EAS for each pair in order to dash. (This does not affect any modifier.) For purposes of Specialist Slots, an EAS is an Ability. Some EAS mods may hurt foes, but those too are Abilities. EASs only take up additional Frame Slots (and/or a Specialist Slot) if they are modified. EAS mods, like Abilities and Specialist Weapons, are left to the imagination; perhaps you want to add a damaging aura or blast wave, or a vertical dash double-jump, or rocket-like underwater flight. Depending on their effect, modified EASs may need more AP to use, or can even become conditional flight systems (p.35- 36). Consult your GM. Finally, to purchase a specific model after character creation, refer to the Cost column of the following chart. 34

Movement Name Duration Frequency Cost Multiplier

Basic Series

EAS-A 1 AP 2x 1 per round 10,000 zenny

EAS-B 1 AP 2x 2 per round 20,000 zenny

EAS-G 1 AP 2x 3 per round 30,000 zenny

Overland Series

OEAS-A 2 AP 2x 1 per round 40,000 zenny

OEAS-B 2 AP 2x 2 per round 50,000 zenny

OEAS-G 2 AP 2x 3 per round 60,000 zenny

Advance Series

AEAS-A 1 AP 3x 1 per round 70,000 zenny

AEAS-B 1 AP 3x 2 per round 80,000 zenny

AEAS-G 1 AP 3x 3 per round 90,000 zenny

Elite Series

EEAS-A 2 AP 3x 1 per round 100,000 zenny

EEAS-B 2 AP 3x 2 per round 110,000 zenny

EEAS-G 2 AP 3x 3 per round 120,000 zenny

The base EAS model, EAS-Alpha, may be purchased for free at character creation, but must fill its Slots as normal. Other Alpha (-A) models may be purchased at character creation at the cost of one Skill Point per 10,000 zenny. Beta (-B) and Gamma (-G) models of any Series may only be purchased by zenny or the recovered DNA of an enemy which had that specific model installed.

Most advances in EAS tech have come directly from upgrades that X recovered from Dr. Light’s mysterious capsules. For reference, X himself – loathe to keep most upgrades – keeps a mere EAS-G, his very first. On high-priority missions, he swaps to a modified EEAS-G or an armor set which includes one. 35

Flight Reploids cannot achieve truly unlimited continuous flight unless they are specially designed for it, and few are. Most “flying” reploids can sustain significant airtime, but still have to touch down every now and then.

For purposes of slots, a flight system is an Ability. However, unlike an EAS, flight systems do not come in convenient sets of incremental models. No two flight systems are exactly alike, as each one is tuned to the specific needs of the Frame that it makes fly. Devise one and consult your GM as necessary.

All flight systems have three stats: Duration, Speed, and Glide.

Duration is the number of AP that you can spend flying. A jump-jet would have a low value, while an extended thrust pack or high-endurance wing actuators would have a high value. Duration is also used to hover in place. Time spent hovering reduces Duration, as you use thrust to maintain stationary. Duration refills when landing and disengaging flight for a turn. Typical max duration in combat runs from 6 to 18 AP. Typical recharge rate is 1 AP of activity for two AP of inactivity (see “Active Heat” in Equipment Traits, p.65-68).

Speed is the movement multiplier while flying, like EAS. Not bound by having to traverse land, it can reach as high as 6x at maximum burn. When making a flight system, higher Physicality and Structural Strength scores should generally translate to lower Speed multipliers. Seek balance and be fair.

Glide is how much a given flight system will coast without dropping altitude or maneuverability. It’s a binary score, Yes/No: No means it has no glide and you drop like a rock, whereas Yes means you have control and maneuverability on your descent and you can keep 36 going longer distances without applying more powered Flight. Long-distance systems will have this, but air-dashers and combat harriers typically won’t.

When a target has both a vertical and a horizontal distance, use the longer of the two measures to determine whether it is within range of your weapon. This avoids having to calculate the hypotenuse. For example, if a flyer hovers at 45 vertical feet but 10 horizontal feet, weapon ranges will treat them as if they are 45 feet away, not (45^2 + 10^2 = x^2) feet away.

Flight System Examples  Anode’s Saetos Jumpjet (Duration 1, Speed 3, Glide N)  X’s X2/X3 Air Dash (Duration 1, Speed 2, Glide N)  Storm Eagle (Duration 12, Speed 4, Glide Y)  Storm Owl (Duration 24, Speed 1, Glide Y)  The Skiver (Duration 18, Speed 3, Glide Y)  Solstrike Saetos (Duration infinite with sun, Duration 18 without, Speed 5, Glide Y)  Kaiser Sigma (Duration 3 indoors, Duration 24 if he ever made it out, Speed 1, Glide N)

Heart and Sub-Tanks Heart Tanks are uncommon and costly expansions to the Shield Battery, allowing the LIFE Core to operate for longer under less of a burden. They are Gear that grants +4 HP each. Player characters may only install one.

Sub-Tanks are rare military hardware capable of restoring the strength of a Shield Battery’s fusion containment function. Only Unit Commanders dispatched on exceedingly rare missions of great need are cleared to carry one or more within their Frame. The Hunters are disinclined to give even their strongest operatives the ability to self-heal, due to lessons learned on and after the Day of Sigma. Player characters won’t have one. 37

Creating Weapons Weapon damage starts as either 1d2 or 1d4. A weapon is either integrated, which consumes internal Slots, or Gear, which doesn’t. All weapons have a Range, from Melee out to 300ft. (60 tiles). Maximum base Threat range is half of total Range. Melee has no Threat range.

Weapons that are more consistent in destructiveness receive a bonus after the roll rather than a higher base die, and often cost more AP to fire.

The starting power and capabilities of any weapon should reflect the Rank of the user. The most damage that a character can do per AP, and per round, without factoring elemental vulnerability, should also fall within reason. Zero’s basic Z-Saber is a stock hi-beam upgraded to max, 1d2+6; even without his rare “Double Slash” Ability, he could consistently deal 7-8 damage on every single AP in a round. New player characters should not do nearly that kind of damage.

The task of creating a non-standard weapon falls to a player’s creativity, but the weight of game balance within an individual campaign ultimately rests on the GM.

Refer to the Example Weapon List (p.69) for examples.

Upgrading Weapons and Abilities Upgrades are always necessary to combat the rapidly-evolving Maverick threat. While specialist equipment often requires the DNA of a defeated Maverick boss, some adjustments and upgrades are common, cheap, and accessible.

Wholesale copying of Specialist Weapons or Abilities consumes one VWES slot each, but you may only copy one per Maverick DNA instance. You may also adapt any Maverick DNA data into one of your existing Specialist Weapons, Abilities, or even VWES entities. The effect can vary wildly depending on how unconventional or elaborate you make the adaptation. 38

Upgrading VWES entities in desired ways may require additional DNA for creative synthesis, or a standard varying-cost “VWES Upgrade” for creative expansion of base expression. Devise the nature of your upgrade and consult your GM as necessary.

After selecting one upgrade from a Maverick’s Specialist Slots, additional weapons and abilities held by the Maverick can be taken at a price usually ranging from thirty to seventy-five thousand zenny, at the discretion of the GM.

Standard weapons may also be upgraded. When upgrading for damage, standard weapons gain the number of their AP cost as a bonus to the roll. Improving or adding outputs (damage, range, traits, Charge Level, etc.) costs 15,000 - 25,000 zenny each. A first upgrade is simply that. A second upgrade carries some form of burden, such as another Frame or Gear slot or a diminished skill value. A third upgrade changes a standard weapon into a Specialist Weapon and requires a Specialist Slot; further upgrades treat it as a Specialist Weapon.

Auto-busters (2d2), Charge busters (1d2+2 and up, per Charge Level), and Burst busters (1d4, Scatter) can be converted into base models of each other for free. Buster upgrades cost 15,000 zenny for the first and 25,000 for each after. Sabers cost the same to upgrade, but the second requires the use of a recharge pack (as Equipment Gear or a mountable device).

Unarmed Everyone carries one specific weapon at all times: Unarmed. Your base Unarmed damage is 1d2 for a Frame size of Bulky or lower, or 1d4 for a Frame size above Bulky. Some weapons or even Specialist Weapons may have the “Unarmed” trait if they are permanently affixed to a given body part, but Unarmed itself is a base level of melee damage that you can inflict with any body part that is not deliberately specialized for combat.

Each point in the Physicality Attribute over 3 gives +1 to your base Unarmed damage roll, and also to any weapon you use which has the Unarmed trait. There is no loss of damage below 3. Certain Abilities or Gear of your own design may also add a bonus, lasting or temporary, to Unarmed rolls. Consult your GM. 39

Sabers: Low-Phase vs. High-Phase Beam sabers or similar beam blades are plasma contained in an electromagnetic envelope, used as melee weapons. Low-Phase or “Lo-beam” blades, when activated, may stay activated for an entire mission. High-Phase or “Hi-beam” blades are more damaging, but have the Active Heat trait (see Equipment Traits, p.65-68). Base Lo-beam damage is 1d2+2. Base Hi- beam damage is 1d2+4. Both may have the Called Shot trait, but lo-beams must upgrade to it.

Charging Charging is accumulating energy to improve a weapon’s base damage and/or effect on the AP that the charge is released. Weapons with the Charge trait automatically charge when equipped, increasing their Charge Level (CL) on consecutive AP up to their maximum. They may be fired at any time, thereby releasing their stored charge. At CL 1, a weapon has no charge. The upper limit is CL 4. Charging may increase or slightly shuffle a weapon’s damage numbers, especially at CL 4, but no amount of charging will metamorphose it into a wholly different effect. Only X himself and certain G-Ranks have that Ability, “Adaptive Charge.”

Charge may be held indefinitely, and you may move and/or dash while Charging. Charge also carries over between rounds. While charging, you may deal Unarmed damage with a weapon or body part different than the one being Charged. Taking any other offensive action, whether shooting the charged weapon or switching to another one, spends the charge. Some Charge attacks can only be fired when they reach full charge; these are called Charge-Up.

Multiple-AP Actions Some actions may require more than one AP to use. Such requirements will be noted in the weapon or other system as an Equipment Trait (p.65-68).

Charge actions are discussed above; when a Charge-trait weapon is equipped, it builds potential intensity over a certain number of AP until fired or swapped out. 40

Charge-Up actions can only be fired at full charge, not at any lower level. Charge-Up weapons may require as many as 5 AP to be ready to fire.

Cooldown actions cannot be fired consecutively. Upon use, that specific action cannot be used again until a certain number of AP has passed. Until that time elapses, you may act in other ways, such as switching to and using a different weapon.

Lock actions spend all required AP immediately. Action resolves on the first AP of the cost. Thereafter, the user stays totally idle – “locked” – until the AP value of the action elapses.

Multiple-AP weapons must have one of those four traits.

Any action that is “an entire round” in combat is 6 AP or the character’s max AP, whichever is lower. Such actions depend heavily on narrative circumstance, such as hacking a door or performing a repair that Field Repair doesn’t cover. Your GM will determine when a full-round action is required.

Dash Melee As a part of any dash action, you may simultaneously make an attack with a melee weapon of any kind. If you have no melee weapon handy, or choose not to use it, then the dash itself may deal your Unarmed damage on collision.

If the melee weapon you use has the Lock trait, then you become Locked at the point of contact, not the point from which you dashed.

Elements The Mega Man franchise has rarely featured a coherent element system. (Mega Man X didn’t even get around to it until Command Mission, with a basic “neutral + fire/electric/water” RPS.) What there has been instead is thematic correlation. Something from somebody beats somebody else by virtue of the opponent’s weapon, body shape, composition, or even preferred mode of mobility. 41

If your character starts out elementally specialized – having one or more Specialist Weapons designed to damage a certain kind of target more than most, or a body designed to operate in certain environments better than others – then devise a weakness for them. Think creatively and choose a thematically appropriate vulnerability which will do 2x damage.

Is your character designed to resemble a fish? They might be weak to fire, electricity, hooks, spears, or other attacks. Is your character highly mobile? They may be defeated by homing missiles, time dilation, sticky gels, proximity bombs, or other attacks. Does your character’s armor look like rock? Drills, hammers, water jets, sound waves, or other attacks could thwart them. And so on.

There is no wrong answer because there is no guaranteed element correlation, even among obvious opposites. This isn’t Pokémon. Besides, reploid design lends itself to contradictions. A reploid could be a deep-ocean giraffe, flying bison, or garbage-incinerating penguin just as easily as an aircraft eagle, ice walrus, or bamboo-forest panda.

There have been a great many “elements” over the games, some more common than others. This set is not intended to be exhaustive, but a starting point of inspiration.

Acid Binding Blade Bomb Cold

Drill Electric Gravity Heat Hologram

Laser Light (Flash) Magnet Shield Sound

Stone Time (Slow) Water Wind Wood

Creating Gear Carrying any Gear requires at least one Gear Slot if the item is not integrated, or one appropriately-located Frame slot if it is. You have as many Gear Slots as you do Body Frame Slots (unless you have Gear holsters as a mountable device). 42

Gear comes in two types: Equipment and Consumable. Equipment Gear may be used as often as desired until dropped, swapped, or broken. Consumable is used once, then is lost until purchased again. Equipment Gear covers every non-Specialist manual weapon, mountable weapons not currently mounted yet still operable, and non-weapon devices both mounted and manual. Consumable Gear is basically “skill food,” and may not be integrated.

Is your Equipment Gear a buster, sword, conventional gun, or even a scanner device? How far and/or fast can you use it, and against what? Does your Consumable Gear give a dash bonus, a reduced Shield Battery cycle, a brief one-time elemental immunity, or even an emergency teleport back home? When does it activate, at will or automatically under a condition? How much zenny does a spare cost?

As with weapons, creating Gear is a compromise between player creativity and GM game-balancing. Refer to the Example Gear (p.70) for examples.

Hand-Held Shields Hand-held shields are exactly that: hard objects held to provide protection. They are Gear, and can be either Equipment or Consumable.

Raising a hand-held shield has an AP price (typically one to two), a DR value which stacks with the rest of your DR, and a limited number of active-per-inactive uses (see “Active Heat” in Equipment Traits, p.65-68).

The time it takes to regain active use depends on the shield’s purpose and quality. Some shields may have penalties for use, such as reducing skill values or restricting your ability to make certain combat actions.

Creating hand-held shields requires the same process as creating any other Gear. Is yours matter-based or a kinetic barrier? Ablative or solid? How much DR does it have? How often can you raise it? Can you use it as a melee weapon in a pinch? Make your decisions and consult your GM, and refer to Example Gear (p.70) for examples. 43

Hardpoints Hardpoints are places on the body where variable equipment called mountable devices can be attached. Each hardpoint grants additional Specialist Slots equal to the number of Leg slots per that character’s Frame Size – except for Tiny-Framed characters, who gain 2 Specialist Slots from a hardpoint instead of merely 1. Specialist Weapons or Abilities that fill the Slots granted by a hardpoint fill them inside the device the hardpoint carries, and are therefore rendered unusable if that hardpoint suffers a Structural Failure. Hardpoints do not consume a Frame Slot, yet must have an external location on the Frame to determine Structural Failure.

All mountable devices are Gear and follow the standard rules of creation mentioned above. Refer to Example Gear (p.70) or Example Weapons (p.69) for examples.

Installing a hardpoint after character creation costs either zenny or the DNA of an enemy who started with a hardpoint. Most hardpoints installed post-creation will reduce a character’s AP by 1, but even the most overly-burdened, heavily-armed hardpoint-abuser must have at least 1 AP remaining to use each round. Smaller, less intrusive hardpoints may instead inflict a fair penalty on various skills. Hardpoints added at character creation may be treated as an intended design feature of the character with no penalties whatsoever, but they must be purchased with one Attribute Point each.

The only technical limit to installing hardpoints is half the number of Frame Slots per body part, rounded up. For example, a basic humanoid Average Frame could hold as many as six empty hardpoints: one on the head, one on the body, and one on each arm and leg. (A shoulder counts as part of an arm.) A Large-Framed humanoid could conceivably hold up to eleven: one on the head, two on the body, and two in each arm and leg. However, the sheer bulk and power draw from overzealous simultaneous installation of mountable devices leads to increasingly magnified downsides: blind spots, noise, low mobility, lower HP, or other complications. Consult your GM. 44

Stealth Stealth, or moving without detection, is provided by a Cloaking system.

Each Cloaking system has a Strength, from 1 to 4. It takes a Strength 4 Cloak to provide total non-detection versus an unaided reploid. Cloaking systems typically have other conditions as well, such as restrictions on mobility, attacking, other actions, or maximum duration before recharge.

Each Sensor/Detection system also has a Strength. Most default reploid audio/visual sensors have Strength 1. In case of Type/DNA comparisons, if one side has a Type Advantage over the other, that side wins regardless of comparative Strength.

Each of the following effects self-stack, so someone with three higher Cloak would gain all three benefits versus the Sensor.

 Cloak Strength is equal to or lesser than opposing Sensor Strength:

o Full visibility.

 Cloak Strength is 1 higher than opposing Sensor Strength:

o Light obfuscation; you can make out the outline and position of the cloaked foe.

o Cloak-user can reroll Skills once each check vs. a target, and keep the better roll.

 Cloak Strength is 2 higher than opposing Sensor Strength:

o Predator Cloak; the cloaked foe is obscured, yet leaves a visible shimmer.

o Cloak-user can auto-dodge one attack per round.

 Cloak Strength is 3 higher than opposing Sensor Strength:

o Invisible; there is no way to identify the cloaked foe’s location until it’s Too Late.

o Cloak-user is under full sensor stealth and cannot be targeted.

Unpredictability Every character starts each combat encounter with as many points of Unpredictability as their attribute value. This initial sum is the Unpredictability Pool. Unpredictability Pool points (UP) may be spent in ways specified by the various Unpredictability skills. Essentially, the UP is a bank of luck with a deposit that grows over time.

At the start of each round, characters passively gain additional UP based on their Frame Size. Bulky gains one UP, Average gains one and a quarter, Small gains one and a half, and Tiny gains two. All Frame Sizes of Large and above gain three quarters of one UP every round. Additionally, during a round, you may choose to convert one AP at a time to one UP.

There is no upper limit to the Unpredictability Pool, nor is there any limit to the number of UP which may be spent on any one roll. The pool returns to its initial value when a combat encounter ends.

Cover Cover breaks line of sight and therefore stops Under Fire tiles short of a target. Hiding behind it protects you from straight line-of-sight attacks from a specific direction, though arcing attacks may strike you behind it, depending on the arc and the shape of the cover. While behind cover, you may fire any weapon at will without additional cost or penalty, provided that it can reach over or around the cover.

Cover is classified by the Frame Size that may use it. Average cover may protect Average Frame Size and below, Towering may protect Towering and below, and so on.

Teammates of any size may also serve as cover by virtue of blocking a shot, regardless of their Frame Size versus yours, but it is only polite to ask them first. You yourself may serve as cover for teammates by placing yourself in the line of fire, but it is recommended to first have confidence in your defenses. If you do not block but evade a line-of-sight attack, it will continue past your tile and possibly strike what was behind you. 46

Inanimate cover is presumed to be invincible unless otherwise noted by the GM. Mobile cover, such as standing walls deployed as an Ability, typically has HP and is destroyed when its HP reaches 0.

Command When a mission allows it, you may requisition a team of subordinate Command Units. If any of your reploid units will operate distantly from you, it is recommended to bring a unit with a high A&C attribute to serve as their sub-commander to maintain an effective and timely chain of command.

Each unit has a deployment price from a Command Point (CP) pool depending on the Class of the mission’s target. C-Class retirement missions have 15 CP, and each Class above C adds another 20 CP. The presence of additional known Maverick threats on a mission does not add the full CP value of their Class, but rather that of one Class lower.

You may choose to bring reploids, mechaniloids, or vehicles on approved missions. (See Command Units, p.71) Each unit’s CP price is a rough measure of their capabilities. Traits can vary enormously between units, and every mission is different, so choose wisely.

Generally, the most expensive units tend to be the most useful; a customized Ride Armor would be a far greater boon than even the most loyal Mettaur.

The very best commanders, of course, find ways to achieve success no matter what they can requisition.

Structural Failures A Structural Failure on any part of the body renders it, and any systems requiring it, inoperable.

A Structural Failure occurs in one of three ways. First is if you suffer a severe wound, an amount of damage equal to or greater than one quarter of your HP after any Damage Reduction. Second is if the Brittleness Value of your armor reaches zero by loss of material or other compromising. Third is by a weapon with the Called Shot trait; a blow from any such weapon inside the weapon’s Threat range forces a Structural Stability skill check, which if failed results in Structural Failure. (Beam sabers, which are melee weapons and therefore have no Threat range, may still have the Called Shot trait simply because of their nature.)

A severe wound or a zero Brittleness Value forces a d20 roll to select a body part (or parts) on the Structural Failure Chart found on the next page. That part will suffer the Failure. Every blow you receive after your Brittleness Value reaches zero requires another roll to select another Structural Failure. A failed roll forced by a Called Shot, however, causes a Structural Failure on the specific body part that the Called Shot targeted.

Non-standard body types that do not conform to the below chart may rework their roll chances based on the body’s proportions, favoring areas that are either fragile or have a large surface area.

Roll Damage Location Explanation Modifiers

1 N/A Damage is purely cosmetic. N/A

-1 DR 2-5 Torso Armor is deeply scoured. If DR is already 0, the target takes an additional point of damage with each hit. Left arm integrated weapons Weapons located in the left arm are no 6 Left Arm are no longer functional. longer functional. Right arm integrated weapons Weapons located in the right arm are no 7 Right Arm are no longer functional. longer functional. Torso integrated weapons are Weapons located in the torso are no longer 8 Torso no longer functional. functional. Cannot use Analyze -1 Evade Fire, -1 Evade Melee, 9 Optics Primary optics are destroyed. -1 Parry, -2 Overwatch, -2 Predict, -2 Well-Aimed Fire -3 DR Armor is cracked open, 10-11 Torso If DR is already 0, the target takes an internals exposed. additional point of damage with each hit. -4 Grapple Left arm is no longer 12 Left Arm Abilities and Weapons requiring the left arm functional or attached. are no longer functional. -4 Grapple Right arm is no longer 13 Right Arm Abilities and Weapons requiring the right functional or attached. arm are no longer functional. Movement speed halved. Right-leg EAS is Left leg is no longer functional 14 Left Leg inoperable. If opposite leg is also lost, land or attached. movement reduced to 1 tile per AP. Movement speed halved. Right-leg EAS is Right leg is no longer 15 Right Leg inoperable. If opposite leg is also lost, land functional or attached. movement reduced to 1 tile per AP. Secondary Sensory Secondary sensory systems -1 Evade Fire, -1 Evade Melee, -1 Predict, -2 16-17 Systems are destroyed. Analyze Both legs are no longer Land movement reduced to 1 tile per AP. 18 Both Legs functional or attached. Physically immobile if both arms also lost. -10 Grapple Both arms are no longer 19 Both Arms Abilities and Weapons requiring either arm functional or attached. are no longer functional. Primary optics and secondary Cannot use Analyze sensory systems are Cannot give or receive commands 20 Head destroyed. Cannot hear. -1 Parry, -2 Evade Fire, -2 Evade Melee, Cannot speak. -3 Predict, -3 Overwatch, -3 Well-Aimed Fire If the Frame has one or more One specific hardpoint and connected device 2, 3, 16 Hardpoints hardpoints, these numbers are inoperable. If more than one exists, the become their target numbers. GM decides which.

Chapter 3: LISTS

Attribute List Analytics and Command (A&C): Your ability to process, interpret, and relay information. Someone with a high A&C score is good at picking apart problems, forming plans, communicating those plans to others, and even persuading others to follow them. At character creation, each point in this attribute over 3 allows for two additional Skill Points, and every point under 3 reduces your skill point pool by one. Increasing this attribute later does not provide additional Skill Points.

CAPSTONE: Command Clarity: The AP cost of all of your A&C skills falls to 0. Also, for one round per combat encounter, all of your skill rolls check against their relevant value +2.

Mobility: Your ability to maneuver, as well as your kinesthetic intelligence. Those with a high Mobility score are not only fast and fleet of foot, but have a solid grasp of how to navigate terrain. At a Mobility score of 3, your base AP is 6. Each point in this attribute over 3 increases your AP count by 1, and each point under decreases your AP count by 1.

CAPSTONE: Quick Recovery: You may reroll any one Mobility skill once per round, and you recover from knockdowns for free on the next AP rather than costing 1 AP. Furthermore, you gain a bonus 1 AP if you suffer a successful knockback, and the distance you are knocked back is halved, rounding up.

Physicality: Your physical strength and durability. Someone with a high Physicality score hits like a truck, lifts like an elevator, and is difficult to hurt or disable with conventional weapons. Intimidation comes easy to them. Each point in this attribute over 3 adds four additional HP to your health bar. Each point under 3 reduces HP by 2. In addition, each point in this attribute over 3 gives 1 bonus point to your base Unarmed damage and to any weapon you use which has the Unarmed trait. There is no loss of damage below 3. 50

CAPSTONE: Juggernaut: You can neither be knocked back, knocked down, nor have your actions prevented by Intercept or Overmatch.

Reflex: Your ability to immediately observe and process an event, and to react accordingly. High-Reflex characters often prove that reaction can be faster than action and are often simply faster on the draw. Reflex governs your AP after an enemy’s Surprise Attack (which starts a combat encounter with your first-round AP below maximum). Each point in Reflex over 3 decreases your Surprise Attack penalty by 1 AP, while each point under 3 increases it by 1 AP.

Furthermore, having 5 or 6 points in Reflex grants the Reflex-Attribute-exclusive traits Combo and Flash. When you begin a series of blows with any melee weapon (even Unarmed), choose Combo or Flash. Your first blow must contend with an enemy’s DR or Shield Battery as normal. With 5 points in Reflex, your second blow continues the chain; under Combo, the damage stacks such that the total value of the enemy’s DR applies only once for both blows, while under Flash, the damage either does not trigger the enemy’s Shield Battery or hits through the flickering invulnerability. With 6 points in Reflex, your third blow in the chain behaves the same way. Subsequent blows restart the two- or three-hit chain back at the normal effect step.

Combo and Flash cannot be nullified by the traits Pierce Guard (p.68) or Flow Guard (p.67), but they take a substantial investment to perform. You must declare which trait to apply to a given chain of melee blows when you begin it; they do not stack, and you cannot switch chains midstream. Only very skilled melee masters such as Zero himself have those Abilities.

CAPSTONE: Snap Decision: On every round’s first AP – and only then – all of your skill rolls check against their relevant value +1. Once per combat encounter, at will, you gain – and must spend immediately – two additional AP in one AP Instant.

Technical Inclination (TI): Your grasp of common design concepts, as well as how to repair, replace, and jury-rig substitutes. Those with a high TI score make excellent designers, 51 mechanics, inventors, and medics (for humans and reploids alike). Each point in this attribute over 3 lowers the required degree of success for Jury Rig by 1. Each point in this attribute over 3 also reduces the time spent in performing Establish Comms and Hack Machine/Mechaniloid, depending on the difficulty of the task. Consult your GM.

CAPSTONE: Emergency Deploy: Once per combat encounter, you may call in one unit or vehicle with a price of 15 Command Points or less, for free. (See “Unit Prices” in Command Units, p.71.)

Unpredictability: Your ability to surprise or deceive, and to come out ahead on risks of probability. Those with a high Unpredictability score excel in pulling off ambushes, surprise tactics, improvisation, and sudden table-turning shifts in the momentum combat. Many of their allies and enemies consider them lucky. Every point in this attribute adds two Unpredictability Points (UP) to the character’s Unpredictability Pool at the start of every combat. (See Unpredictability, p.45.)

CAPSTONE: Master of Surprise: Twice per combat encounter, you may immediately add 6 Unpredictability points to your current pool.

Skill List

Analytics & Command:

Analyze: A successful skill check allows you to view all the stats and equipment of enemy mechaniloids or reploids as last noted by Hunter Command’s intel database. A check conducted after an enemy uses a weapon or ability which differs from their last recorded intel reveals its data. You may also identify any technological equipment. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 10.

Command: Your ability to motivate. A successful roll gives one friendly reploid NPC or mechaniloid one more AP that round, or makes neutral reploids obey you. Once per combat encounter, you may order an enemy to surrender; this carries a -15 penalty to the roll, or -8 if they are below 25% HP. If your roll succeeds, they surrender. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 12.

Evaluate: Your ability to effectively read one enemy’s behavior, readying yourself for their next action against you. A successful roll gains half the degree of success (rounded up) as a bonus to your next skill roll versus one enemy’s next action. Usable once per round. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 5.

Forewarn: Your ability to effectively read one enemy’s behavior and alert one teammate to it, readying them for the enemy’s next action against them. A successful roll gains half the degree of success (rounded up) as a bonus to your teammate’s next skill roll versus one enemy’s next action. Usable once per round. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 5.

High Value: You act, speak, or even pose in such a way that one enemy will consider you worth taking out. With a higher degree of success than an enemy’s Analyze roll, they will spend the rest of the round either attacking you or moving toward you. No AP Cost. Max Value: 10.

Low Value: You act, speak, or even pose in such a way that one enemy will consider you beneath their contempt. With a higher degree of success than an enemy’s Analyze roll, they will spend the rest of the round ignoring you – unless and until you attack them or directly obstruct their mission goal. Does not work if you are alone. No AP Cost. Max Value: 10. 53

Mobility:

3D Agility: This score reflects a character’s mastery of Mobility skills when bodily in the air, underwater, or in low-gravity environments. When you make a Mobility skill roll in any situation where you lack solid ground and/or normal gravity – flight, freefall, swimming, diving, spacewalks, etc. – make a roll with this skill as well. Your degree of success on this roll is subtracted as a bonus to the other skill’s roll. No AP Cost. Max Value: 8.

Athletics: This skill reflects a character’s ability to navigate and cross rough or complex terrain. A check may be necessary when vaulting obstacles, falling from a height, avoiding being knocked down, or performing other physically straining activities with a risk of failure or injury. Failing the roll fails the action. A check may also be required on every AP that you spend conventionally crossing ground which is rough, slick, or otherwise inconvenient. Failing that roll may incur penalties such as reduced movement or uncontrolled sliding. (Consult your GM.) Every five points in this skill adds another tile of movement allowed on successful Breakout, Evade Fire, or Evade Melee checks. If a melee blow from you is evaded, rolling a greater degree of success than your foe’s successful Evade Melee roll allows you to follow through; you may immediately occupy the tile from which they evaded, if you choose. No AP cost. Max Value: 15.

Breakout: If grappled by an enemy, you may simultaneously escape and act. This roll gains your Physicality attribute value in addition to that of Mobility. With a greater degree of success than the enemy’s Grapple roll, you may move to any adjacent tile (or one further, with every five points in Athletics). You may then make a follow-up action costing exactly 1 AP. On an unsuccessful roll, you stay grappled. Breakout-initiating characters of a Frame Size one category larger than their grappler receive a bonus of +2 to this skill, two sizes larger receive +4, and three sizes larger receive +6.

Also, if you are constricted or bound in any way, a successful Breakout roll frees you on the same tile and allows for a follow-up action of 1 AP. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 8. 54

Evade Melee: When attacked by any melee weapon, you may roll to avoid taking damage. If the roll succeeds, you may move to an adjacent tile (or one further, with every five points in Athletics). If you have no tile to which you may move, you may jump instead, but jumping leaves you on the same tile. An Evade Melee roll can also evade area damage from a Cleave attack aimed at someone beside you. No AP cost. Max Value: 10.

Well-Aimed Fire: Determines your ability to suppress and box in enemies with well- placed automatic fire beyond the usual effective range of your weapon. For each weapon you have which has a Threat range – even VWES entities – each point in this skill increases the Threat range by five feet. This skill can surpass a weapon range’s usual Threat limit, extending it out as far as the weapon’s maximum range. Passive. Max Value: 10.

Physicality:

Endurance: Your Endurance is how well you continue operation despite grievous bodily harm, and also your resistance to energy draining weapons.

When you suffer a severe wound (losing a quarter or more of your HP at once) or a mortal blow (reaching 0 HP), you must make an Endurance roll; if the same enemy attack causes both, then make one roll for each. If the roll succeeds against a severe wound, you do not lose any AP and do not suffer a Structural Failure; if it fails, then you lose half of your remaining AP for that round and must make a roll on the Structural Failure chart. If the roll succeeds against a mortal blow, then if the damage takes you below 0 HP, you are rendered unconscious yet alive. However, if your roll succeeds and the damage leaves you at precisely 0 HP, you may also choose to remain functioning in combat with half AP until such time as you regain any HP. You may remain functional in a 0 HP state indefinitely, but any subsequent blow against you requires a new Endurance roll. If you succeed the roll in a 0 HP state, you fall unconscious yet alive. If you fail it in a 0 HP state, you die.

Finally, if your energy is being drained by a siphoning attack, a successful Endurance roll reduces damage by half and does not restore HP to the drainer. No AP cost. Max Value: 12. 55

Grapple: You may Grapple an enemy by rolling for a degree of success higher than the degree of success of their own Grapple roll. If you fail, or roll a degree of success equal to your enemy’s, you stay in place and your enemy continues their AP’s action. If your degree of success is greater than theirs, however, both of you occupy the same tile. Any movement action you make takes the enemy along with you. The enemy may not make a new movement action until they beat your winning Grapple roll’s degree of success with a Breakout or Grapple roll of their own. The enemy may, however, use any integrated weapon, as well as most skills that do not require movement (except for Intercept and Overmatch).

To end the Grapple, you may throw the enemy one tile (or one further, with every 5 Athletics points) to deal your standard Unarmed melee damage, or you may simultaneously release them into an adjacent tile and make any action. Grapple-initiating characters of a Frame Size one category larger than the victim receive a bonus of +2 to their Grapple skill, two sizes larger receive +4, and three sizes larger receive +6. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 10.

Intercept: When an enemy is in motion during an AP, you may move into their path and attempt to make an Unarmed attack (or a weapon with the Unarmed trait) to halt their continued movement. If your Intercept roll succeeds, the enemy loses their remaining AP for the round and stops one tile back from the tile in which you intercepted them. Flying enemies can only be intercepted while you yourself are jumping or flying. Cost: 1 AP. Max Value: 10.

Overmatch: Your ability to overcome and push through Intercepts or Parries. If your Overmatch roll has a greater degree of success than the enemy’s Intercept, then your enemy is pushed to a tile on either side of your path and receives your Unarmed damage (or damage from a weapon with the Unarmed trait). If your Overmatch roll fails, then your enemy successfully Intercepts you and you take Unarmed (or Unarmed-trait weapon) damage from them. If the degrees of success on your Overmatch and their Intercept are identical, then both of you are Intercepted in a heavy collision and you both take 56 each other’s base Unarmed damage (not damage from an Unarmed-trait weapon).

If your Overmatch roll has a greater degree of success than an enemy’s Parry roll, then the Parry is simply nullified; if it doesn’t, then your attack is successfully Parried. No AP cost. Max Value: 10.

Structural Strength: This skill represents your ability to make the best possible use of your armor. Each point in this skill adds an additional 2 HP to your maximum HP. Additionally, every two points in Structural Strength adds a +1 bonus to an Endurance roll. Knockback and knockdown checks roll against this skill plus the Physicality attribute, though that roll is redundant if you have the Juggernaut capstone. Passive. Max Value: 8.

Reflex:

Counter: When an enemy attacks you from an adjacent tile, you may chose to Counter. On a successful roll, you may attack them back for free with a Melee-trait weapon. Every 3 points put into this skill raises the number of Counters you may use per round by one. No AP cost. Max Value: 10.

Evade Fire: When on a tile that is Under Fire, you may roll to avoid taking damage. If the roll succeeds, you may move to an adjacent tile (or one further with every 5 points in Athletics). If the tile to which you move is also Under Fire, you may roll again once for every two points you have in Reflex. An Evade Fire roll can also evade area damage from a Blast or Scatter attack aimed at someone beside you. No AP cost. Max Value: 5.

Overwatch: You may use AP to Overwatch with a line-of-sight ranged weapon. The AP cost is the weapon’s AP cost +1. For the duration of that AP total, you immediately fire upon any enemies in your line of sight within a frontal 180 degree swath of you, out to the weapon’s full range. Tiles Under Fire work as normal. At a skill value of 1, your weapon loses its base Threat range for the duration of Overwatch (any Threat range granted by Well-Aimed Fire still applies). Each point in this skill over 1 earns back five feet of the weapon’s base Threat range, but does not extend it (only Well-Aimed Fire can). Cost: Weapon AP +1 AP. Max Value: 10. 57

Parry: You may block a Parryable-trait weapon with any non-Unarmed Melee-trait weapon. A successful Parry roll prevents all damage that would otherwise be received unless the weapon attacking you has either the Blast or Scatter trait, in which case you still receive the specified Blast or Scatter damage. Half of your Parry roll’s degree of success, rounded up, is added to your Counter skill for the next Counter roll on the same round; for example, with a total value of 12 and a roll of 7, that round’s next Counter roll aims under the Counter skill value +3. No AP cost. Max Value: 10.

Retreating Target: During any AP, if your target moves from within your range to outside of it or from line-of-sight to cover, make a check with this skill. If you succeed, you graze your target on their way out, dealing half damage rather than none. No AP cost. Max Value: 8.

Technical Inclination:

Establish Comms: If communications with Hunter Command has been jammed, you may overcome the jamming. You may also attempt to jam enemy comms, given the right hardware. This roll’s success threshold and degree of success is modified by the complexity of the jamming system used. Cost: One full round or more (consult GM). Max Value: 15.

Field Repair: With a set of tools (Specialist Slot or Gear) and a successful roll in this skill, you may repair machines, mechaniloids, and reploids outside of a repair facility. You may even heal humans. You cannot, however, repair Structural Failures. For the duration of this action, if either you or your patient suffers damage or makes any new action, Field Repair ends immediately. For each 2 points in this skill, your healing duration extends by 1 AP. Each point in this skill equals the health replaced per AP. A given patient can only be Field Repaired once per mission, at which point they receive the “Patch-Job” status, but if your roll’s degree of success is 7 or more, your patient avoids that status and can be Field Repaired again. Cost: 1-5 AP. Max Value: 10. 58

Hack Machine/Mechaniloid: Your ability to program or reprogram neutral or hostile machines and mechaniloids. This roll’s necessary degree of success will be modified depending on the target’s firewalls, system complexity, remaining HP, or other conditions. Consult your GM. Regardless of such details, it is much harder to hack an active device than it is to hack one undergoing maintenance. Cost: One full round or more (consult GM). Max Value: 15.

Jury Rig: Using scattered mechanical parts, you may attempt to halve the penalty of a Structural Failure on yourself or others, or attempt to create a device with a specific purpose. This roll’s success threshold and degree of success are modified depending on the complexity of the machine being created or used; consult your GM. To halve the penalty of a Structural Failure, you must have a degree-of-success of 5 if the failure did not disable weapons, or 10 if the failure did. Cannot be used during combat. No AP cost. Max Value: 15.

Operate Vehicle: Your ability to use and operate vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Specific vehicle of type is to be named next to the skill, with penalties based on difference in vehicle types. The types are: Ground (Armored Vehicle), Ground (Technical), Sea (Small Ship), Sea (Submersible), Sea (Warship), Air (Civilian), Air (Multirole), Air (Bomber). Every two points in this skill allows for an additional vehicle type. Passive. Max Value: 16.

Unpredictability:

Blind Fighting: When fighting an enemy whom you cannot see due to stealth, you may spend a number of UP, up to the value of your Blind Fighting points plus your Unpredictability attribute points, to ensure that your next hit lands. Each two points in the resulting pool reduces the UP cost of this skill by 1. Base Cost: 6 UP, no AP. Max Value: 5.

Critical Hit: This skill allows you to spend UP on additional damage. For each point in Critical Hit, you may spend one UP for +1 damage on one successful hit per round. The Unpredictability attribute value does not contribute to this skill. No AP cost. Max Value: 5.

Dancer: You may spend a number of UP, up to the sum of your Unpredictability attribute and Dancer points, to reduce your Evade Melee or Evade Fire roll by the spent 59 amount. If the resulting value falls to 1, every additional UP spent beyond that adds +1 to your Evade Melee or Evade Fire skill for the remainder of the round. No AP cost. Max Value: 5.

Defensive Fighting: When an enemy rolls to Counter you, you may spend a number of UP, up to the sum of your Unpredictability attribute and Defensive Fighting points, to raise the enemy’s Counter roll by the spent amount. If the resulting value exceeds 20, they cannot counter you again for the remainder of the round. No AP cost. Max Value: 5.

Grievous Harm: When you make an enemy suffer a Structural Failure, you may spend a number of UP, up to the sum of your Unpredictability attribute and Grievous Harm points, to raise the enemy’s Structural Failure roll by the spent amount. If the resulting value exceeds 20, they must make two separate Structural Failure rolls and both failures are applied. No AP cost. Max Value: 5.

Miracle Worker: You may spend a number of UP, up to the sum of your Unpredictability attribute and Miracle Worker points, to reduce your Field Repair roll. If the resulting value falls to 1, every additional UP spent beyond that adds 1 HP to the amount you restore per AP. No AP cost. Max Value: 5.

Unpredictable: This skill is an inherent trait of the Unpredictability attribute and cannot be increased with Skill Points. All characters have it. When you make an Evaluate or Forewarn roll, your target may spend a number of UP to increase your roll by the spent amount. If the resulting value exceeds 20, you may not use Evaluate or Forewarn on them for the remainder of the round.

The effect is the same if an enemy tries to use Evaluate or Forewarn on you. The GM should inform you if and when that occurs. No AP cost. Max Value: (Current UP).

General Actions These actions do not have a skill assigned to them, and so may be made by anyone.

 Move, at a rate of 10 feet (two tiles) per action point while unhindered.

 Jump. Jumping consumes no AP and gives the character the ‘aerial’ status for the AP in which they jump. Base jump height for reploids is twice the jumper’s height, or 3 ft. for humans. Dash systems may multiply this.

 Attack with a non-Specialist weapon. AP cost depends on the weapon. Attacking with a ranged weapon causes every tile in a line from the person making the attack to the target to gain the status of Under Fire. If no target is chosen, or if the target is moving, then every tile out to the weapon’s range in the direction it points gains the status Under Fire.

 Apply first aid to a wounded or injured human. HP that a human recovers from this roll is a combination of a character’s TI and A&C, plus 1 point per Rank above E. Cost: 1 AP.

 Attempt to catch a moving object, by a combined Reflex and Mobility success roll. Attempting to catch an Unarmed strike from someone of a Frame Size three or more levels above yours is not possible. Cost: 1 AP.

 Attempt to destroy an incoming projectile with a beam saber, by a combined Reflex and Mobility success roll. A buster shot counts as a projectile, but a sustained laser beam does not. Destroying a grenade or missile either does not trigger its explosion or makes it explode for 0 HP damage. Cost: 1 AP.

 Attempt to sneak. (See Stealth, p.44.)

 Talk in person or over comms. This happens within a round in combat yet consumes no AP. If the character is injured or rendered non-functional they may well be cut off.

 Pick up an item. If an item is not exceptionally heavy or massive, lifting it costs no AP.

 Switch active weapons. The act of switching costs no AP. 61

Armor Specialist Traits

Cost: 4 Armor Type Points:

 Bunker Shell: +2 DR.

 Element-Null: Immune to one additional element of your choice. (May not resist an existing weakness.)

 Heat Sink: Ability: Channels heat away from an internal system. Reduces Active Heat’s required inactive cooldown AP by 1 for one Cloaking system, Flight system, or other Ability you might have. (One purchased instance only.)

 Heat Sink: Weapon: Channels heat away from one weapon. Reduces Barrel Heat for any single Barrel Heat weapon you have; cooldown time is 3 AP rather than 6 AP. Also reduces Active Heat’s required inactive cooldown AP by 1 for any single Active Heat weapon you have.

 Powered Servos: -1 AP for one Specialist Weapon or one Ability.

Cost: 3 Armor Type Points:

 Deflection Shell: Blast, Cleave, and Scatter damage from attacks not specifically directed at you is 0. Furthermore, your armor is now effective mobile cover; you gain +4 DR if and only if your position on tiles Under Fire blocks an ally from damage.

 Flex Components: +6 Brittleness Value.

 Overdrive Components: Dash systems cost one less AP to use. If the AP is reduced to 0, it becomes free to use, and you can combine a dash with any attack, melee or ranged. (One purchased instance only.)

 Spike: One part of your body now sports one (or a few) dreaded ceratanium spikes. Unarmed melee damage dealt by that specific part gains the Break and Shatter traits. Spike may be placed on any body part that can suffer a Structural Failure, and is nullified if and only if that part fails.

 Surface Components: A Cloak or a Flight system becomes more efficient due to an outer layer of light projection or aerodynamic contours. Cloak Strength increases by 1 (up to 62

max 4) when the system is active, or Flight Speed increases by 1x (up to max 6x) when the system is active. The benefit is either/or: it applies to either Cloak or Flight, not both.

Cost: 2 Armor Type Points:

 Architecture: +2 Structural Strength. Can take your Structural Strength Skill over its maximum value, which is normally 8.

 Deflection Plate: One part of your body can now be used to Parry. For no AP cost, that specific part can attempt to prevent damage from any Parryable weapon. Such a Parry is still vulnerable to the Overmatch skill, but it may be used an unlimited number of times in succession. Deflection Plating may be placed on any body part that can suffer a Structural Failure, and is nullified if and only if that part suffers Structural Failure.

 Shielding Components: Adds Flow Guard. (One purchased instance only.)

 Solid Components: Adds Pierce Guard. (One purchased instance only.)

 Tension Components: Adds Disruptor Guard. (One purchased instance only.)

Shield Battery Specialist Traits

Cost: 4 Shield Battery Points:

 Cloak Flash: Provides maximum Cloak Strength, 4, upon a triggered Activation Threshold. Lasts for 1 AP, same as the invulnerability.

 Lower Threshold: -1 HP from your Activation Threshold, thereby making it easier to trigger and costing less damage when it does.

 Quick Cycle: Shield Battery activation rate increases by one per round.

 Repulsor: Upon a triggered Activation Threshold, emits a kinetic field that forces a knockback check on enemies on adjacent tiles. Distance knocked back depends on the user’s Frame Size.

Cost: 3 Shield Battery Points: (no stacking, 1 purchased instance of each allowed):

 Cooldown Cycle: Increases activation rate by one per round, but Shield Battery cannot activate on consecutive rounds. (Cooldown Threshold, if purchased too, increases the next-round activation delay by one round.)

 Cooldown Threshold: -1 HP from your Activation Threshold, but Shield Battery cannot activate on consecutive rounds. (Cooldown Cycle, if purchased too, increases the next- round activation delay by one round.)

 Fragile Cycle: Increases activation rate by one per round, but makes Shield Battery fail to activate against one element. (Letting an existing weakness bypass shields is not recommended. Fragile Threshold, if purchased too, must choose a different weakness.)

 Fragile Threshold: -1 HP from your Activation Threshold, but makes Shield Battery fail to activate against one element. (Letting an existing weakness bypass shields is not recommended. Fragile Cycle, if purchased too, must choose a different weakness.)

 Joint Energy Reroute: Increases your base land movement speed by 5 ft., but Shield Battery only activates when your remaining HP is already 50% or below. (Incompatible with other Reroutes.) 64

 Muscle Energy Reroute: Increases all of your Melee damage rolls by +1, but Shield Battery only activates when your remaining HP is already 50% or below. (Incompatible with other Reroutes.)

 Sensor Energy Reroute: Increases all of your ranged damage rolls by +1, but Shield Battery only activates when your remaining HP is already 50% or below. (Incompatible with other Reroutes.)

Cost: 2 Shield Battery Points:

 Final Flash: Shield Battery activates when you would otherwise have received a mortal blow, regardless of Activation Threshold. Reduces you to 1 HP instead. Can only occur once per mission. (Stacked instances increase occurrence by one per mission.)

 Impact Flash: Shield Battery activates from successful knockbacks and knockdowns, regardless of Activation Threshold. (One purchased instance only.)

 Melee Tuning: -1 HP from Activation Threshold for melee blows, but +1 HP to Activation Threshold for ranged blows.

 Ranged Tuning: -1 HP from Activation Threshold for ranged blows, but +1 HP to Activation Threshold for melee blows.

Equipment Traits

 Active Heat: This weapon or ability can only be active for a certain maximum AP depending on its nature. In the majority of cases, for each two AP that this weapon or ability is not in use, it regains one AP of use. However, the down-time requirement may be greater for very powerful weapons or abilities.

 Ammo: This weapon requires prefabricated ammunition, whether solid ordinance or a consumable energy supply. Ammo packs must be carried as Gear. Base cost for reloading is 1 AP. VWES “ammo” may not be recharged during a mission.

 Barrel Heat: Once fired, this weapon must spend six consecutive AP cooling down before it may be fired again. Exceedingly powerful weapons may have greater cost; consult your GM.

 Blast: Causes an explosion on impact. Units on adjacent tiles to the target take half the damage of the damage roll. Incompatible with Cleave.

 Break: This weapon deals damage against armor’s Brittleness Value.

 Called Shot: Every blow with this weapon forces an enemy to make a Structural Failure check on one body part of your choosing.

 Charge: This weapon has a charge function. When it is equipped, it automatically builds in potential intensity over consecutive AP up to its maximum charge level until released or swapped. In weapon descriptions, damage marked as “CL” stands for Charge Level. “CL 1” is the base damage when fired uncharged.

 Charge-Up: This weapon can only be fired at full charge, not at any lower level.

 Cleave: This melee weapon strikes in a wide arc. Units to the immediate left and right of the target take half the damage of the damage roll. (Incompatible with Blast.) 66

 Compact: Indicates a weapon that is either integrated or small enough to be used freely in an extremely confined space with one hand. All weapons integrated into a Frame are automatically considered Compact and do not need to be noted as such.

 Cooldown: This weapon cannot be fired consecutively. Upon use, it cannot be used again until a certain number of AP has passed. You may act in other ways, such as switching to and using another weapon, but the weapon under Cooldown cannot be used again until ready.

 Crushing: +2 to Overmatch and Intercept skills with this Unarmed-trait weapon.

 Disruptor: Units hit by this weapon have all skills reduced by 2 points for the next 2 AP. Effect does not stack.

 Disruptor Guard: Nullifies the Disruptor trait of enemy attacks while active.

 Drone: Generates a mechaniloid with its own HP (typically very low). Base AP is 6. Base movement speed, base damage, and number of drones generated per use may vary. Drones can move as you will them, but they have no Attributes, Skills, or related points.

 Effect Trail: This weapon leaves an offensive, defensive, or utilitarian trail of some sort. Effects vary. They may include such things as flame, fluid, electricity, energy shielding, shockwaves, signal lights, smoke, or whatever else may issue from a projectile. An arching beam projectile swung out of a beam saber is not an effect trail, but an energy- blocking wake following the blade is.

 Flinch: This weapon forces an Athletics check on a target. If failed, the action the target chose for that AP is nullified. Flinch cannot activate on consecutive AP and does not eliminate a foe’s stored Charge.

 Flow: This weapon does not activate an enemy’s Shield Battery, and hits a target even when their Shield Battery’s invulnerability is active. Solid-mass weapons are more likely to have this trait than energy weapons are, but there is no exclusivity. Incompatible with Pierce. 67

 Flow Guard: Nullifies the Flow trait of enemy attacks while active. Does not affect the Shield-Battery-ignoring capability of the Reflex-Attribute-exclusive trait Flash.

 Guided: This projectile weapon may follow a set path determined by the user. If it misses and is not destroyed, the projectile may continue on a new path for 1 AP with each re-aim until it hits something, someone destroys it, or the user deliberately stops guidance.

 Knockback: This weapon forces a Structural Strength check on a target. If failed, the target is pushed directly backwards one or more tiles depending on the attacker’s Frame Size. Tiny: 1 tile, Small: 2, Average: 3, Bulky: 4, Large: 5, Towering: 6, Massive: 7, above- Massive: 8.

 Knockdown: This weapon forces a Structural Strength check on a target. If failed, the target is knocked down and cannot make a movement action. Getting back up costs 1 AP under normal circumstances.

 Lock: This weapon spends all of its required AP immediately. The action resolves on the first AP of the cost. Thereafter, the user stays totally idle – “locked” – until the next available AP.

 Melee: This weapon can only attack adjacent targets, but it can Counter and Parry.

 Mountable: This weapon or other device may be mounted on a hardpoint. A version with identical stats may be carried as Equipment Gear in one or more Gear Slots.

 Mountable Only: This device must be mounted on a hardpoint; it will not function otherwise.

 Non-Lethal: This weapon cannot kill. A blow from this weapon will never reduce a target’s HP to 0, only to 1 at the lowest.

 Parryable: This weapon can be Parried under normal circumstances.

 Pierce: Ignores an enemy’s DR. Incompatible with Flow. 68

 Pierce Guard: Nullifies the Pierce trait of enemy attacks while active. Does not affect the Damage-Reduction-ignoring capability of the Reflex-Attribute-exclusive trait Combo.

 Reach: This melee weapon can hit targets 10 feet away rather than 5. Otherwise, is simply a Melee-trait weapon.

 Scatter: Does an additional 1 HP damage to adjacent targets.

 Shatter: If this weapon’s damage deals a Structural Failure, the part that it makes fail is two spaces more severe on the Structural Failure chart than the victim’s roll dictates. Chart adjustment does not apply to Called Shots.

 Specialist Weapon: This weapon requires prior training or periphery equipment to use in any effective capacity. Uses one Specialist Slot. (Title is redundant if the weapon is present in the list of your Specialist Weapons.)

 Unarmed: This weapon is a fist, foot, tail, jaw, or other integral part of the body, or is a weapon permanently attached to one such part. It cannot deal ranged damage, and may only be taken out of play with an appropriate Structural Failure.

Example Weapons

Max Threat Weapon Damage Equipment Trait AP Cost Range Range

Auto-Buster 45 ft. 20 ft. 2d2 Mountable 1 / fire

50 ft. N/A 1d2+2 (CL 1) 2 / charge Charge Buster Charge, Mountable 80 ft. 10 ft.. 1d2+4 (CL 2) 1 / fire

Burst Buster 30 ft. 10 ft. 1d4 Mountable, Scatter 1 / fire

Specialist 2d2 (CL 1) Charge, Flinch, Mountable, Specialist 2 / charge 55 ft. 25 ft. Auto-Buster 3d2 (CL 2) Weapon 1 / fire Specialist 1d4+1 (CL 1) Blast (CL 2 only), Charge, Scatter, 2 / charge 60 ft. 10 ft. Burst Buster 1d6+1 (CL 2) Mountable, Specialist Weapon 1 / fire 1d2+2 (Fire) Flamethrower 30 ft. 15 ft. Cooldown, Flow, Mountable 2 / fire +1 in Threat 1d2+2 (Acid) Ammo (16), Cooldown, Flow, Acid Sprayer 30 ft. 15 ft. 2 / fire Threat: Shatter Mountable, Pierce Blast, Guided, Mountable Only, Guided Launcher 60 ft. 30 ft. 1d2+2 1 / fire Shatter Low-Phase Melee N/A 1d2+2 Melee, Parryable 1 / swing Beam Saber High-Phase Active Heat (6), Called Shot, Melee, Melee N/A 1d2+4 1 / swing Beam Saber Parryable Low-Phase Melee N/A 1d2+1 Compact, Melee, Parryable 1 / swing Beam Knife High-Phase Active Heat (4), Called Shot, Cleave, 10 ft. N/A 1d2+4 2 / swing Beam Lance Cooldown, Melee, Parryable, Reach

Stungun 15 ft. N/A 1d4 (Electric) Compact, Disruptor, Flow, Non-Lethal 1 / fire

Conventional 1d2 1 / fire 80 ft. 40 ft. Ammo (10) Rifle +1 in Threat 1 / reload 1 / fire Bolt Gun 40 ft. N/A 1d4 Ammo (12), Break 2 / reload 1d4+2 1 / fire 20mm Cannon 80 ft. 20 ft. Ammo (8), Mountable +1 in Threat 3 / reload Barrel Heat (6), Called Shot, Lock, Railgun 200 ft. 100 ft. 1d4+4 Mountable, Pierce, Specialist Weapon 3 / fire – requires 1 target in Threat 1d4 (CL 1) Break, Cooldown, Flinch, Knockback 3 / charge Doom Fist Melee N/A 1d6 (CL 2) (x2 base at CL 3), Melee, Specialist 1 / punch 1d8 (CL 3) Weapon, Unarmed 60 ft. 1d2+2 (CL 1) Charge, Cleave (entire firing line, CL 4 X’s First Armor 80 ft. 1d2+4 (CL 2) 4 / charge N/A only), Pierce (CL 4 only), Specialist Charge Buster 100 ft. 1d2+6 (CL 3) 1 / fire Weapon 300 ft. 4d2+2 (CL 4) 70

Example Gear Equipment may be used repeatedly. Consumable may not. A given Gear’s required Gear Slots fall to 0 if it is mounted on a hardpoint. Mountable Only devices need no slots.

Gear Gear Type Effect Damage AP Cost Slots Low-Phase Equipment Melee weapon, Melee, 1d2+2 1 / swing 1 Beam Saber (Weapon) Parryable +2 Analyze & Evade Fire skills, Broad-Spectrum Equipment +2 Sensor Strength, N/A N/A 2 Scanner (Pack) Mountable Equipment -1 req. AP cooldown for Active Beam Saber Pack N/A N/A 2 (Pack) Heat sabers only, Mountable Adds Called Shot trait to any Target Scope Equipment (Part) N/A N/A 1 Ranged weapon Lifesaver Kit Literally the (see Field Equipment (Pack) Allows general Field Repair 1 (General) opposite Repair) Lifesaver Kit +2 Field Repair skill, Literally the (see Field Equipment (Pack) 2 (Personalized) only on rolls for (teammate) opposite Repair) Lifesaver Equipment Lifesaver Kit (Personalized) (all Literally the (see Field 0 Actuators (Mountable Device) teammates), Mountable Only opposite Repair) Equipment +4 Gear Slots, Gear Rack N/A N/A +4 (Mountable Device) Mountable Only Hardpoint Equipment Blast, Shatter, 1d4 1 / fire 0 Cannon (Weapon) Mountable Only Hardpoint Equipment +4 Overwatch skill, 1d2 1 / fire 0 Gatling (Weapon) Mountable Only Hoganmer Equipment +2 DR, Active Heat (6), N/A 1 / raise 2 Shield (Weapon) -2 Reflex & Mobility if raised Heavy Hardware Consumable +4 Hack Machine/ (see Hack N/A 2 Cracker (Tool) Mechaniloid Skill Mac./Mec.) Consumable Throws an ice bomb up to 1 per 4 Cryomer Bomb 1d2+2 (Cold) 1 / throw (Weapon) 15 feet away. bombs Consumable +1 Cloak Strength Cloak Battery N/A 1 / use 1 (Bonus) Lasts all combat encounter. Heavy Polymer Consumable +2 DR N/A Automatic 2 Spread Layer (Bonus) Lasts until 3 damage at once. EAS Getaway Consumable EAS duration lasts for N/A At Will 1 Cell (Bonus) 1 more AP. Consumable Increases Shield Battery Shield Cycle Cell N/A At Will 1 (Bonus) activation rate by 1 per round.

Heart Tank Special +4 HP; rare and expensive N/A N/A 1 71

Command Units There are various units you can command into battle. Units do not have Unpredictability values unless they are unique NPC reploids falling under your command for a given mission.

Command Name Stats Skills & Abilities Weaponry Points Mechaniloids and Reploids A&C: 3 Heavy Buster: Evade Fire: 2 Mob.: 2 1d2+1, 20 ft. Parry: 3 Phys.: 3 2 AP / fire

Victoroid Reflex: 2 15 Juggernaut: Immune to TI: 1 Cannon Swing: Knockback, Knockdown, 1d2+2, Melee, Unarmed Intercept, & Overmatch. HP: 10 DR: 1 3 AP / swing A&C: 2 Missile: Mob.: 3 1d4+1, 200 ft. Poor Targeting: 50 ft. Phys.: 3 sight range in frontal 180 Gunvolt Reflex: 4 Jolt: 15 degrees. +1 to enemy TI: 1 1d2+1 (Electricity) Evade Fire. 30ft., 15ft. Threat HP: 12 DR: 1 3 AP / fire A&C: 3 Auto-Buster: Mob.: 3 2d2, 45 ft., 20 ft. Threat Athletics: 3 Phys.: 3 Mountable Evade Fire: 4 Steel Beret Reflex: 4 1 AP / fire 10 Evade Melee: 2 TI: 2 Low-Phase Saber: Predict: 2 1d2+2, Melee, Parryable HP: 10 DR: 0 1 AP / swing A&C: 1 Micro-Buster: Mob.: 1 Duck: 1 damage, 30 ft. Phys.: 1 +12 DR while hidden 1 AP / fire Mettaur Reflex: 1 under helmet. 5 TI: 1 2 AP / duck Headbutt: 1 AP / rise 1 damage, Melee HP: 2 DR: 0 1 AP / bump Commissioned 25 + equal or (various) (various) (various) Officer lesser Rank Vehicles Ride Chaser (stock) (various) (various) (various) 25 Ride Chaser (custom) (various) (various) (various) 35 Ride Armor (stock) (various) (various) (various) 30 Ride Armor (custom) (various) (various) (various) 40

Zenny Rewards Your post-mission pay will vary depending on certain conditions.

Enemy Class Base Payout (Retirement of Target)

P Relevant to Contribution

G 125,000 zenny

S (SA) 80,000 zenny

A 35,000 zenny

B 25,000 zenny

C 10,000 zenny

D 5,000 zenny

E 3,500 zenny

Condition Pay Adjustment

Outclassed (1 Rank) 1x

Outclassed (2 Ranks) 1.25x

Outclassed (3 or more Ranks) 1.5x Target of Opportunity 0.75x (Unexpected Additional Maverick) Target of Opportunity 1.25x (New Parameter of Immediate Strategic Value) Live Capture 0.25x Maverick Class; E-G = 1-7

Retirement of High-Value Target 2x

Live Capture of High-Value Target 3x

Acquisition of Significant Asset or Intelligence 0.5x – 1.5x

All Command Units Returned Intact 0.5x

Rescue of Non-Mission-Critical Personnel 0.5x

Rescue of Mission-Critical Personnel 1x

Saving Life of Maverick Hunter in Mortal Peril 0.25x Rank of Saved Hunter; E-G = 1-7

Miscellaneous Various 73

Example Character Sheets

Arbor Rangedeer HP AP Rank Frame Speed Element Binding 20/20 6/6 B Large 15ft. (10+5) (weak: Fire)

Mugshot Bio Former maintenance manager of an artificial forest. Repaired cybertrees, monitored their growth, marked them for harvest, planted new ones. Mostly solo work with mechaniloid assistance over huge tracts of land. He’s patient and diligent as a result.

Once found a B-Class Maverick hiding out in his forest, his forest, and made such short work of him that he got a good referral and a job offer from the Hunters.

Description Quick Weapon/Ability Reference Arbor Wall: 1d4/+1/+1 (Bind), 1/2/3 AP, 20 ft, Arm-R Big elk reploid, ~250cm. Big antlers. Core Sampler: 1d2+2 (Drill), 3 AP, Melee, Arm-L Brown/green armor, white trim. Ceratanium Axe: 1d4, 1 AP, Melee Axe has a skull/antler motif. 2-Charge Buster: 1d2+4 / 1d4+2, 1/2 AP, 60/80ft. EAS-A: 2x Speed, 1/Round, 1 AP, Leg L+R

Attribute and Skill Values Analytics & Command: 2 Reflex: 2

Mobility: 3 Technical Inclination: 5  Athletics +6  Establish Comms +6  Field Repair +5 Physicality: 4  Hack Machine/Mechaniloid +6  Endurance +5  Intercept +5 Unpredictability: 2  Structural Strength +2 74

Armor Type: Medium Shield Battery DR: 1 SBP: 0/5 Brittleness Value: 12 ATP: 0/5 Specialist Traits: Specialist Traits:  Joint Energy Reroute (Speed +5 ft., but  Architecture (+2 Structural Strength) SB only activates when HP < 50%)  Spike (loc. Head)  Final Flash (leaves 1 HP on mortal blow, 1/mission)

Specialist Weapons Abilities  ARBOR WALL  EAS-A Slots: Core System Slots: 1 Specialist, 2 Frame Frame Location: Arm-R Frame Slots: Leg-L, Leg-R Damage: 1d4/+1/+1 (Binding/Wood) Damage: Unarmed Range: 20 ft. (no Threat) Cost: 1 AP Traits: Break, Charge, Shatter Description: Emergency Acceleration System Cost: 1/2/3 AP Alpha. 2x movement speed, usable once per Description: Gun barrel on right arm shoots a round. seed pod. If the pod lands on a surface, it snap-grows a mass of cybernetic wood  THE RACK 5/10/15ft. wide with 4/6/8 HP and a Cover Slots: N/A rating of Large. If the pod hits an enemy Frame Location: Head instead, it constricts with cyberwood roots. At Damage: Unarmed Level 1 charge, deals 1d4 (Binding) damage Traits: Break, Melee, Shatter and subtracts 1d2 of the target’s remaining AP Cost: 1 AP that round. Each stage of charge adds +1 Description: Antler spikes reinforced with bonus to damage and constriction rolls. ceratanium by Armor customization. Unarmed UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Range, size/HP of wall, blows dealt by the antlers have the Break and damage of roots, multiple seeds per shot. Shatter traits.

 CORE SAMPLER Slots: 1 Specialist Frame Location: Arm-L Damage: 1d2+2 (Drill) Range: Melee Traits: Cooldown,Melee, Parryable, Pierce Cost: 3 AP Description: Retractable sampler drill on left arm. Can pierce trees all day. UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Damage, AP cost, bits 75

Gear Remaining Slots  Ceratanium Axe Slots: 2 Gear Damage: 1d4 Range: Melee Traits: Break, Cleave, Melee, Parryable Cost: 1 AP Description: Big, skull/antler-themed, timber- Specialist: 1/3 felling axe of a woodsman. Or possibly a headsman. Frame: UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Traits: Knockback,  Head: 2/2 Knockdown, Pierce, Reach, Shatter.  Body: 3/3

 Arm-L: 3/3  2-Charge Buster  Arm-R: 2/3 Slots: 1 Frame  Leg-L: 2/3 Frame Slots: Arm-R  Damage: 1d2+2 / 1d2+4 Leg-R: 2/3

Range: 60ft. / 80 ft. Gear: 1/3 Threat Range: 0 / 10 ft. Traits: Charge, Mountable Cost: 1 / 2 AP Description: Basic plasma shot emitter mounted in his existing arm barrel. UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Damage; third charge level.

VWES - 2  (Empty)  (Empty)

Meteor Showa HP AP Rank Frame Speed Element Fire 32/32 6/6 A Bulky 10ft. (weak: Cutting)

Mugshot Bio Underwater construction/salvage worker turned archaeologist, contemplative about reploids’ place in history. She is an advocate of underwater historical preserves such as Mumbai and New Orleans, well- read in politics, and also a public educator about the challenges of 22nd-century climate.

When her public relations outreach team was hastily reassigned for battle in the Doppler War, Showa acquitted herself well, advancing in power enough to merit a Rank promotion from B to A.

Description Quick Weapon/Ability Reference Meteor Melter: 1d2+4 (Fire), 2 AP, 20 ft., Head Remote Ogon: 3 AP, Body, details vary by fish Showa koi reploid, ~183cm. Longer than Hi-Beam x2: 1d4, 1 AP, Melee she is tall. Fish head/body, stands with a AEAS-A: 3x Speed, 1/Round, 1 AP, Leg L+R stoop. Black/red-orange/white armor. Meteor Scissor: 2d3+4, 2 AP, Lock, Arm L+R Bolide: 1d4 (Fire), auto on SB active, 5ft., Body

Attribute and Skill Values Analytics & Command: 5 Reflex: 3  Analyze +5  Counter +5  Evaluate +4  Parry +5  Forewarn +5 Technical Inclination: 2 Mobility: 3  Establish Comms +5  Aquanautics +6 Unpredictability: 2 Physicality: 4  Critical Hit +2  Structural Strength +8

Armor Type: Medium Shield Battery DR: 1 SBP: 1/5 Brittleness Value: 18 (12+6) ATP: 0/5 Specialist Traits: Specialist Traits:  Repulsor (knockback on activation)  Flex Components (+6 Brit. Value)  Shield Components (Flow Guard)

Specialist Weapons Abilities  METEOR MELTER  BOLIDE Slots: 1 Specialist, +1 Frame (Upgrade) Slots: Core System Frame Slots: Head Frame Location: Body Damage: 1d2+4 (Fire) Damage: 1d4 (Fire) Range: 20 ft. on land, 60 ft. underwater Description: Blasts out a 5ft. fireball aura upon Traits: Cooldown, Guided (underwater only), Shield Battery activation. Every time. Pierce, Shatter UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Larger aura; dash aura. Cost: 2 AP (3 - 1) Description: Lobs a thermite grenade from her  AEAS-A mouth. Can also spit burning thermite. Slots: 1 Specialist, 2 Frame UPGRADE: Lowers cost by 1 AP. Frame Slots: Leg-L, Leg-R UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Range. Damage: Unarmed Cost: 1 AP  REMOTE OGON Description: Advance Emergency Acceleration Slots: 1 Specialist, +2 Frame (Upgrade) System Alpha. 3x movement speed, usable Frame Slots: Body once per round. Damage: 1d4 Range: 60ft.  SABER MOUNTS Traits: Cooldown, Drone (traits vary) Slots: 2 Frame Cost: 3 AP Frame Slots: Arm-L, Arm-R Description: Spawns a fish drone that can spit Description: Underhand integrated wrist a laser. Default shape is an ogon koi, but can mounts for hi- or lo-beam sabers. One in each. vary. Maximum fish out at one time is 4. Frees up the hand. UPGRADE: Spawning Trait: Ability and shape of drone can change. Many options. Body Slot.  METEOR SCISSOR UPGRADE: Itamae: Makes one Spawning Trait Slots: 1 Specialist, 1 Frame +1 (bought Spec.) an intrinsic trait for each drone. Body Slot. Frame Slots: Arm-L, Arm-R Costs zenny for each new trait added. Damage: 2d2+4 (hi-beams), 2d2+2 (lo-beams) UPGRADE: Tobiuo: Flying fish drone. Aerial. Traits: Cleave, Lock UPGRADE: Gyogun: Spawns two fish, not one. Cost: 2 AP UPGRADE: Namazu: Catfish drone. 1d4. Description: Swings both sabers in a wide UPGRADE POTENTIAL: More drone options. scissor motion. Can be used as dash melee. 78

Gear Remaining Slots  Heart Tank Slots: 1 Gear Specialist: 0/3+1 Traits: +4 HP Frame:  High-Phase Beam Saber (x2)  Head: 1/2 Slots: 1 Gear (each)  Body: 1/3 Damage: 1d2+4 (each)  Arm-L: 0/2 Traits: Active Heat (6 AP) (each), Called Shot,  Arm-R: 0/2 Melee, Parryable  Leg-L: 1/2 Cost: 1 AP (each)  Description: Plasma in an EM envelope, with a Leg-R: 1/2 handle. Gear: 0/3 UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Damage, elemental effect.

VWES - 2  SMOKE EXTRUDER  LIGHTNING STRIPE  “Ozone Osprey” stock weapon  “Heavy Metal Thunder” alternate Ammo: 16 stock weapon Frame Location: Body Ammo: 12 Damage: 1d2 (Corrosion) Frame Location: Head Range: 5/10/15 ft., above-water only Damage: 1d4+2 (Elec) above-water, 1d4+4 Traits: Charge, Flow (Elec) underwater Cost: 1/2/3 ammo per 1/2/3 AP Range: 300ft. Description: Emits a corrosive ozone cloud in Traits: Charge-Up (5/1) every direction. Persists for the AP of its Cost: 1 ammo per 6 AP (5 charge, 1 fire) charge level. The cloud ignites for additional Description: Emits a line-of-sight lightning 1d2 (Fire) damage if exposed to a non-saber, beam from her mouth. Primarily useful for non-buster, high-temperature source. sniping distant foes while guarding a mission UPGRADE: ++Persistency: The cloud now objective. persists for two more AP than its charge level, UPGRADE POTENTIAL: More consistent 3/4/5, for the same ammo. damage; continuous fire at increased ammo UPGRADE POTENTIAL: Elemental smoke, cost per consecutive AP altering element of the contact and/or flammable synergy damage

GM Notes and Recommendations

The original author of this core rules document, guy_with_the_parrot, had this to say:

There's a fairly large amount of work to be done as a GM for this system, I must admit, between mapping, managing the minor elements of the economy to ensure fair pricings, to juggling both your player's and bosses' stats, as well as the minor enemies. With time, I intend to release supplements, primarily in the form of more unit statting and a certain Ace Human module that I've been working on. What I can recommend is be wary of what types of effects you permit to stack and do not allow characters access to equipment well beyond their weight class. Both of these can easily create severe imbalance if not handled with care. Flat damage upgrades are boring, and often leads to a bit of a numbers game with players, try to avoid this. Give them tools, not flat out weapons. This section will hopefully become more helpful the longer I work on it, just as the rest of this pdf. With time I'll be cleaning it up, fixing diction, and generally make it more legible and clearly understandable, perhaps filling in sections I have overlooked or need further expansion.

Cleaning up and filling in are exactly what I’ve tried to do. Ideally I’ve improved the document*, at least a little. Have fun with it and enjoy yourselves.

~ Jack

December 20, 2017

* Images from Capcom, Archie Comics, Evan Kester, and Wikimedia Commons.