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[Hat]

All,

Those there spent some time talking about the campaign and how things were going and what adjustments might be needed or if a reset was needed.  Pacing of advancement was discussed and the fact that a number of PCs are approaching the point where bonuses to to hit rolls even without pulse weaponry or targeting computers is starting to to get high.  Given that this isn't an RPG, spending on non-combat specific skills is limited at best, non-existent at worst.  Here are some ideas for things that could be factored in, probably in a reset.

1. Scaled SPA costs for slots - the game Shadowrun Crossfire (deckbuilding game) allows you to improve your runners over time by spending Karma.  Each runner has 4 upgrade slots.  The first slot is base cost for an upgrade.  Upgrades range in price from 5 to 50.  The other 3 slots are all at +10 Karma each.  If you replace the upgrade in the first slot later, there's no cost to it because it's the first slot.  So PCs are allowed to have up to 6? SPAs with wingmen allowed to have 3 I think.  I've been going back through the campaign rules, and I'm not seeing the specifics anywhere.  So it could be that you have the first 2 SPAs for a PC be at base cost then add 10 per additional SPA (0/0/10/20/30/40).

2. Bonus XP earned for buying ranks in skills other than piloting, gunnery, tactics and strategy to be used towards the purchase of other stuff including the 4 combat skills and SPAs.  These rebates don't change the base costs for skills, you still have to invest fully, but it does mean you could bump up your scrounge, career soldier, etc. and still get XP to spend on the stuff useful on the tabletop.  It also provides an incentive for people who didn't roll up as great a starting character to flesh them out without doing so at the full cost of combat effectiveness.  Not sure what the #s would be, could be explored if people are open to the idea.

3. Make some of the non-combat skills more useful.  Provide a bigger bonus for things like career soldier.  Allow for Admin and/or Bureaucracy to allow for delivery of parts faster or allow for negotiation or scrounge to be able to come up with parts on planet faster than 3 weeks.

With a sweep of his...

Hat

[deadlyfire2345]

 Lance Leaders may not have more than 5 SPAs, while wingmen and miscellaneous unit personnel are capped at 3. Close enough though.

[Ice]

Honestly I'm almost up for a reboot at this point.

 Wipe warehouses pilots funds but pick up where we leave off. We get recruited by comstar, dragoons, hounds or grey death in secret effectively folded into the units and hell who knows since the unit lives we have s better chance of cannon material if we get asked to pull from it.


I know we want to play in the spirit of the game mechanics to the letter on most aspects if not all but maybe we could prompt a few errata and what not for balancing since we have the attention or at least an ear in some aspects of the company occasionally to check rules stuff etc. Who knows the rebalancing nat help a bit but in honesty we all know the game needs rebuilt to the d10 system to further remove other issues

Cap pilots at 2/2
Set Spa limits to 4 for Lance leaders and 3 for wingman

I think the staggered penalty for more spa is a good idea at least for the lance leaders.

Remove weapon spec - this will force people to still close to mid range to be able to effectively use their weapons.

Other option is to make weapon spec -1  which isnt as bad as -2. Other option is to increase needed xp for it.

I'd almost say make pulse lasers -1 instead of -2 - this still gives clan players an advantage as intended currently in rules but not so hefty that it makes stock mechs useless for IS.

Changes to as far as weapon spec and pulse tech could shift the game length a little but not that much and still allows it to still be enjoyable considering hitting on 6s at short range is better than seeing 4s all the time.

Clan tech already had good enough bluffs in damage tonnage crits range the -2 for pulse tech just doesnt fit well in it. Hell the most OP thing for the clans is the bonus 1/3 range plus the extra 2-5 points in damage compared to IS counter parts.

Make jumping Jack +2 instead of +1 -  it could be argued to make the change one way or the other. Targeting systems should allow for these types of free range movement and tracking considering the futuristic tech in play anyway. However at what point does it seem all that logical to jump every turn constantly maintaining good targeting. Again this still seems feasible but when compared to firing on the run why is it supposed to be easier this way more so than running? Yes I know gyro etc compensate in modern battle tanks.

These are working gripes/ideas that could be built on


Also what about psr against targeting XD failing gives +1 for turn. Bet that's in the advanced stuff someplace somewhere.

Also forgot to mention the idea of failing jumpjets considering it is an interesting idea

I mean there are some references to bad ports  etc on some mechs

[deadlyfire2345]

I have no opinion on this.
However the new TechManual that was released by Catalyst has shown some time changes.
I also bought the new TOs and the MW: Destiny book.
Snub Nose PPC is now discovered by DC in 3037. Thinking theres a misprint in the new PDF. The description for the snub is saying 3037, the table is saying the original 3067.

[Hat]

MW Destiny is due out as part of Wave I, so April?  It'd be nice to know if that was the system is a better choice moving forward.  MW3rd is fine just uneven factionally for character generation.  I'm not inherently looking for a reboot, though not opposed to one. 

Another area to consider is whether we should put more limitations on how much customization of a given mech can be done.  Maybe access to a factory for a redesign is much harder/more expensive - like burn a permanent point of contact more expensive or the equivalent amount of XP.

I expect part of the issue is that different people enjoy different aspects of the game / advancement and so finding the right balance and mix can be more of a challenge.

[deadlyfire2345]

I honestly do not care what happens truth be told. I do enjoy the company.
I have had some thought about this. In all honesty, no matter what we do, someone will not enjoy the decision. We all get frustrated from the amount of items that each person has, but we just need to find a work around.

Finding a balance may be harder than leaving things as is.

I am not entirely against the idea of starting over, but keep the timeline the same or close to it.

[Ad Hoc]

My sons and I had a discussion about SPA’s and getting overpowered characters.  We feel it is fun to have SPA’s but is not fun being hit by someone needing TN 5 to hit you and you needing 11 or 12 to fire back. So, here is what we have come up with as possible changes to help counter some of this.

1. Separate the SPA’s into groups by what they effect. Have 4 groupings: Melee Phase, Fire Phase, Movement Phase, and Other (everything else).
2. In these groups have 2 levels of SPA’s. 1 would be Basic or Entry level and the 2nd would be Master level. Only PC’s can use Master level SPA’s.
3. A PC can have 5 SPA’s.  Max of 2 per category. But only 2 can be Master level and need to be in different categories.
4. Wingmen can have up to 3 basic slots. Max of 2 SPA’s per either Melee Phase or Fire Phase categories.
5. I know as a group we want to keep are rules as they are in the rule books. But we feel that some of the SPA’s may need to be adjusted for this campaign. Some examples are Jumping Jack and Melee Master. For Jumping Jack make 2 levels: basic level that is +2 movement modifier and master level that is +1 movement modifier. For Melee Master change it from having 3 punches or 2 kicks per turn to damage increase per punch and kick by 25%. May also want to consider limiting how times Weapon Specialist can be taken. And maybe change Weapon spec to have a basic level that is -1 and the master level be the -2.

Possible SPA groups
MELEE PHASE
Basic Level
Dodge
Melee Specialist
Fist Fire
Slugger
Street Fighter
Weapon Spec (physical weapons)

Master Level
Melee Master
Zwelhander
Swordsman

FIRE PHASE
Marksman
Blind Fighter
Shaky Stick
Blood Stalker
Forward Observer
Sharpshooter
Weapon Spec
Multi-Tasker

Master Level
Cluster Hitter
Sniper
Range Master

MOVEMENT PHASE
Basic Level
Environmental Specialist
Hopper
Wind Walker
Speed demon
Stand Aside
Maneuvering Ace
Jumping Jack (+2 mod)

Master Level
Terrain Master
Natural Grace
Jumping Jack Master (normal +1 mod)

OTHER
Basic Level
Hot Dog
Eagle Eyes
Pain Resistance
Heavy Lifter
Tactical Genius
Combat Intuition