15 thoughts on “Question that came up.”

  1. Well you don’t just roll dice to resolve tasks, you roll dice to resolve risks. So using the pilots Physique doesn’t affect how much they can lift and punch in and out of the mech – that’s part of the fiction.

  3. Sorry yes, l recognize that you do not roll dice to fulfill a task – and certainly not a single simple task. When the time is right, when the fiction warrants it, and you need to do a physique move to determine the outcome of a situation. What do you do?

    Example: there are these gravitic disk platforms. The mech tries to push it down and hold it long enough to allow some other characters to observe under it. The gm determines it would require great strength. The pilot is a scrawny -1 physique guy. So you roll -1 physique to hold the dangerous platform that may snap back at any moment. The strength of the mech offers no help to the roll?

    I think you believe the mech gets you in the door to even attempt pushing the platform. It is the physicality of the pilot that will determine success or not. This is not how I envision a mech I guess is where I am having the issue.

    Thanks for the responses thus far!

  4. The strength of the mech let’s you push on it in the first place. If the pilot was naked, he wouldn’t be able to perform the action, but with the mech he can.

    Now here’s the rub. Rolling a 6- does not mean the action is a failure, it simply means the risks come to bear. “Yeah, you hold it down but you hear a crunching and snapping of the joints of the mech. Your arms are trapped inside the mech and you have no control over them. What do you do?”

  5. I consider Physique to be more than raw strength. I think that there is a skill in how one applies force. This could translate to mech control.

    Consider the narrative positioning. If the mech can lift 1 ton, then any pilot can do that. The question that we need to answer is how well they can perform the task under pressure.

  6. By this measure the strength of the mech turned completely narative. The luck of the pilot comes to question as to the outcome of the situation. And the factor for determining if the mech can have bad luck befall him is his physique.

    I think our interpretation of what a mech is might be different. I am not thinking of a mech as that loader thing in aliens. Or some power armored suit. Instead, virtually any mech in an anime. The strength of the pilot is typically not a factor in the strength of the mech.

  7. You still do the same mistake. No one says the characters strength determines the mech strength. The mech is X strong where X is whatever is narratively agreed at the table. That strength allows the mech to do certain tasks. Physique of the Character is not his strength alone but his ability to control his body. And you need body control to maneuver a multiton mech that mimics your movements. If your mechs are steered with brain waves only instead of body movements you propably would not use physique but something else. Narrative is very important, this is not a game trying to simulate a universe. Tell the story how the character controls the actions of his mech and derive the possibly required roll from there.

  11. Thanks for the insights. The Pilot character has an asset attire that can activate the mech remotely too (connected). Perhaps that is the paid cost to make it based on a separate stat. That said, why is there some balance factor that needs to be considered to make it a different stat? Is it unfair to the game rules to do it?

    If activating the articulation of the mech is based on the physicality of the pilot I can see that being a Physique based roll. Something like Pacific Rim. Otherwise, I think you pilot a mech as if it were a flyer – which would be mettle. Your reaction time, discipline, and precision being some of the most key components to success.

    Perhaps the asset standards rules may apply here. Another thought is that perhaps simply adding another land vehicle type. Walker (physique) and Mech (mettle) makes more sense. And finally, the last idea. Based on the narrative of the land vehicle you just say it is mettle or physique. Example a motorcycle is physique, an indy 500 race car is mettle, some mech’s are mettle, and others are physique.

  15. As an old school gamer I have difficulty not viewing Physique as STR. And with that view I suppose it makes Mettle some weird combination of DEX and willpower. It’s a trap that is hard to shake.

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