-
Welcome to the Inner Sanctum!
We are an 18+ forum for writers and roleplayers of every genre. Whether you're a novice or a novelist, you've found your writing sanctuary here.
Review our rules, make an account and come see what the Sanctum has to offer!! For privacy reasons, some forums are not visible to guests.
If you have any issues verifying your account, please contact us
To prevent your account being flagged as possible spam, please disable any VPNs prior to registration.
-
Vote for the Inner Sanctum!!!
.:MechPilots:. Flesh, Steel, Honor and Fire. OOC
- Thread starter WishBone
- Start date
- Watchers 6
-
- Tags
- mech mechwarrior
Currently reading:
.:MechPilots:. Flesh, Steel, Honor and Fire. OOC
Thank you!
Looking forward to seeing what kind of party we end up with. Is Mister Brown still aroun'?
So far we have a tanky brawler and my long-range skirmisher. So I guess a fast striker would be good. Or an off-brawler. I'm a bit new to mech tactics, but it seems to me our biggest weakness is Doomsday getting surprised and hit from behind (so slightly faster off-brawler could help cover his flank), and Talaris getting overwhelmed by superior firepower and immobilized (so a fast striker could help to draw fire and cover her retreat). Doomsday is a big pile of cannons on a walking fortress, but he's vulnerable to extreme-range harassment by faster units, so Talaris is going to have to act like a carrier's combat air patrol and go out ahead to engage those types of attackers, then pull back behind the safety of Doomsday's cannons if the enemy attacks in force.
What kind of small arms are typical for this universe? Is it gunpowder weapons like we have now? Since we'll be starting out on foot, having to deal with an emergency before even reaching our mechs, I should think about how my character is equipped. I was going to give her a pistol sidearm, probably 9mm or .45 ACP, haven't quite decided (the standard tradeoff of ease of carry vs. stopping power when you need it). And one spare magazine. And probably a small switchblade.
Is there a standard type of outfit pilots wear on duty, like a flight suit? Or do they just drive in their underwear to better endure cockpit heat? (or more like a gym outfit, I imagine). Do we get private rooms within this base where the story starts, or is it like a military barracks with people crammed together into bunks? I'm assuming mech pilots are like officers and they get the privilege of privacy.
Also any details about the planet we'll be starting on? Hot? Cold? Has an atmosphere? Has water? Has life? Tropical? Temperate? And what's the nature of our base there? For example, is it a temporary structure that RUPIC built, like a Roman war camp? Or did we occupy an existing facility alongside the standing army of whoever is paying us? And what's the nature of the conflict and contract on that planet? We're winning? We're losing? A stalemate?
So far we have a tanky brawler and my long-range skirmisher. So I guess a fast striker would be good. Or an off-brawler. I'm a bit new to mech tactics, but it seems to me our biggest weakness is Doomsday getting surprised and hit from behind (so slightly faster off-brawler could help cover his flank), and Talaris getting overwhelmed by superior firepower and immobilized (so a fast striker could help to draw fire and cover her retreat). Doomsday is a big pile of cannons on a walking fortress, but he's vulnerable to extreme-range harassment by faster units, so Talaris is going to have to act like a carrier's combat air patrol and go out ahead to engage those types of attackers, then pull back behind the safety of Doomsday's cannons if the enemy attacks in force.
What kind of small arms are typical for this universe? Is it gunpowder weapons like we have now? Since we'll be starting out on foot, having to deal with an emergency before even reaching our mechs, I should think about how my character is equipped. I was going to give her a pistol sidearm, probably 9mm or .45 ACP, haven't quite decided (the standard tradeoff of ease of carry vs. stopping power when you need it). And one spare magazine. And probably a small switchblade.
Is there a standard type of outfit pilots wear on duty, like a flight suit? Or do they just drive in their underwear to better endure cockpit heat? (or more like a gym outfit, I imagine). Do we get private rooms within this base where the story starts, or is it like a military barracks with people crammed together into bunks? I'm assuming mech pilots are like officers and they get the privilege of privacy.
Also any details about the planet we'll be starting on? Hot? Cold? Has an atmosphere? Has water? Has life? Tropical? Temperate? And what's the nature of our base there? For example, is it a temporary structure that RUPIC built, like a Roman war camp? Or did we occupy an existing facility alongside the standing army of whoever is paying us? And what's the nature of the conflict and contract on that planet? We're winning? We're losing? A stalemate?
WishBone
Task: Not Responding - End Task?
- Local time
- Tomorrow 6:34 AM
- Messages
- 1,870
When we have the roster - details will be comming.
As for most pilots - you tend to wear the head gear, the suit <which can help manage heat and heat stress. Think of it as a racing driver suit, flame resistant and if needed, resistant to shrapnel etc and electrical discharge if things overload. Outside of a mech you usually wear your standard lance issue uniform, clothes or jacket with patches of where / who you ran with and for most Mech pilots. Better to punch and eject from a Mech, than be too close <enemy mechs might just shoot you to get the mech.>
@humon - for Doomsday as an assault Mech, faster, smaller mechs can outmanuver, or operate almost as if via packs. Though - light mech vs super heavy assault is ballsy enough. If they tie up the mech long enough or get it too hot from missing shots - it can easily be whittled down if alone. Most assault mechs always rely on medium, troop or mechanized support for many against one engagements. Jackhammer is an old old mech - but a trusted mech.
I should have the thread up later this week.
As for most pilots - you tend to wear the head gear, the suit <which can help manage heat and heat stress. Think of it as a racing driver suit, flame resistant and if needed, resistant to shrapnel etc and electrical discharge if things overload. Outside of a mech you usually wear your standard lance issue uniform, clothes or jacket with patches of where / who you ran with and for most Mech pilots. Better to punch and eject from a Mech, than be too close <enemy mechs might just shoot you to get the mech.>
@humon - for Doomsday as an assault Mech, faster, smaller mechs can outmanuver, or operate almost as if via packs. Though - light mech vs super heavy assault is ballsy enough. If they tie up the mech long enough or get it too hot from missing shots - it can easily be whittled down if alone. Most assault mechs always rely on medium, troop or mechanized support for many against one engagements. Jackhammer is an old old mech - but a trusted mech.
I should have the thread up later this week.
Last edited:
I'm still around!
My build is a super light AT. It's basically an 8-meter or so human shape complete with fingers and the rest. I don't have onboard weapons so I will have to carry/ditch what I bring. I imagine a small weapon system would be akin to a rifle in scale. My most common load out will probably be a DMR or sniper of some sort, like a rail gun. Also, since I have full dexterity, my mech is meant for utility; placing shaped charges, taking specimen samples, dismantling door locks - R2D2 stuff.
My second strength is optics and observation. I'm imagining laying ambushes and baiting larger bots into flanks from the big boys. The rest of my toys are for when shit "goes south" and I need to leave.
I think that so far our builds compliment pretty well.
My build is a super light AT. It's basically an 8-meter or so human shape complete with fingers and the rest. I don't have onboard weapons so I will have to carry/ditch what I bring. I imagine a small weapon system would be akin to a rifle in scale. My most common load out will probably be a DMR or sniper of some sort, like a rail gun. Also, since I have full dexterity, my mech is meant for utility; placing shaped charges, taking specimen samples, dismantling door locks - R2D2 stuff.
My second strength is optics and observation. I'm imagining laying ambushes and baiting larger bots into flanks from the big boys. The rest of my toys are for when shit "goes south" and I need to leave.
I think that so far our builds compliment pretty well.
WishBone
Task: Not Responding - End Task?
- Local time
- Tomorrow 6:34 AM
- Messages
- 1,870
@MisterBrown so recon and Speedyboi. In battletech there are mechs that hit hard from range cicadas is what theyre called. Or comandos (imagine mechs like you described and still at 8 -10m give an assault mech the shits. Mostly because they run rings around em and destroy the legs. (Had it happen to me) and a no legs mech means a dead mech.
WishBone
Task: Not Responding - End Task?
- Local time
- Tomorrow 6:34 AM
- Messages
- 1,870
I can already think of situations where a suit-sized scout would be very useful, doing things at human scale so that none of us have to risk getting out of our mechs. Also, I could see an AT-suit coming in handy for helping dislodge mechs that got stuck in the mud or fell over sideways. Like a walking tow truck. I wonder how much weight your AT can lift.
Patches of who you ran with... almost makes these lances sound more like biker gangs than military units. Which for mercenaries is probably closer to the truth.
Patches of who you ran with... almost makes these lances sound more like biker gangs than military units. Which for mercenaries is probably closer to the truth.
I did know of the Commandos, but want to be even more squishy than those. More articulate and agile, but naked and weak. I think my strategy will be attacks from cover until a larger mech is downed or has a major component crippled - before doing ankle-bites. PD or untimely reinforcements could really ruin the day.
It would be cool to be able to replace parts on a teammate in the field, a gun or a module, without having to call up the engineers. And also looking at the Commando, I think the scale of a med weapon might be small enough for me to handle in two hands. Then maybe I could use large weapons as shoulder-style launchers. Maybe really large weapons I could set up as crew-served style emplacements.
Posted my char in lore. It's really bare rn so I might add more.
It would be cool to be able to replace parts on a teammate in the field, a gun or a module, without having to call up the engineers. And also looking at the Commando, I think the scale of a med weapon might be small enough for me to handle in two hands. Then maybe I could use large weapons as shoulder-style launchers. Maybe really large weapons I could set up as crew-served style emplacements.
Posted my char in lore. It's really bare rn so I might add more.
Ahh, that's actually close to what I was thinking. As my profile pic suggests, I really like Yoji Shinkawa and it reminded me of that. I thought about using him. *I also forgot to credit the art so I will also get around to that.
I didn't know who either of those artists were until you mentioned it and I looked them up. Really cool that Shinkawa cited Amano as an inspiration. Like a passing of the torch from Final Fantasy to Metal Gear. And speaking of Metal Gear, I remember 20 years ago being impressed by the organic-leg Ray model they introduced in number 2 (Sons of Liberty). Just like with myomer, it clicked in my mind back then that if you want to walk on two legs at scale, you need to use the structure of a dinosaur as your model.
I did some digging on the BT wiki to compare weapon stats. With your gundam being 12 tons, we could assume its upper carrying limit is half that, or else it would become unbalanced. And we could say that weapons using 1 critical point are small enough to be carried in hand, while 2 critical points could be held over the shoulder. So the best long range weapons are:
Autocannon/2 :: Weighs 6 tons, uses 1 CP, effective range 24 (720m), minimum range 4 (120m), damage 2, heat 1, ammo 45/ton, cost per shell is 22 C-bills
LRM-5 :: Weighs 2 tons, uses 1 CP, effective range 21 (630m), minimum range 6 (180m), damage 1/missile, heat 2, ammo 120 missiles/ton, cost per missile 250 C-bills
Extended-Range Large Laser :: Weighs 5 tons, uses 2 CP, effective range 25 (750m), damage 10, heat 12 (I assume you'd also need to plug this into your mech's power source)
I guess other forms of weapons are either ineffective against mech armour, or so heavy they need to be mounted on a battleship.
The wiki didn't list any kind of railguns, so maybe we could assume that such a thing would fall under the category of AC/2, but with probably more ammo per ton, since they don't need to come with powder charges. And probably also less weight for the gun itself, since it doesn't have to be strong enough to withstand gas pressure anymore (although not necessarily, if the barrel has to be made longer -- the most practical length would have to be the height of the mech, 8.5m, so you can sling it).
I couldn't find any stats on how many hit points each ton of armour has. I'm assuming it's something like 5 or 6, because of some descriptions of weapons talking about how much armour they can strip per shot. Using that as an estimate, the way I divided my spider's armour is so that it would take 3 hits from an AC/2 (acey-deucey, I'ma call it) to cripple one of its legs. And much more than that to pierce the body (although the weakest point would be the rear, where the reactor is, probably an AC/10 could punch through that part in one shot... plus the PPC turret on top is also exposed and vulnerable, though I could shield it with the front legs if I maneuver it right).
Autocannon/2 :: Weighs 6 tons, uses 1 CP, effective range 24 (720m), minimum range 4 (120m), damage 2, heat 1, ammo 45/ton, cost per shell is 22 C-bills
LRM-5 :: Weighs 2 tons, uses 1 CP, effective range 21 (630m), minimum range 6 (180m), damage 1/missile, heat 2, ammo 120 missiles/ton, cost per missile 250 C-bills
Extended-Range Large Laser :: Weighs 5 tons, uses 2 CP, effective range 25 (750m), damage 10, heat 12 (I assume you'd also need to plug this into your mech's power source)
I guess other forms of weapons are either ineffective against mech armour, or so heavy they need to be mounted on a battleship.
The wiki didn't list any kind of railguns, so maybe we could assume that such a thing would fall under the category of AC/2, but with probably more ammo per ton, since they don't need to come with powder charges. And probably also less weight for the gun itself, since it doesn't have to be strong enough to withstand gas pressure anymore (although not necessarily, if the barrel has to be made longer -- the most practical length would have to be the height of the mech, 8.5m, so you can sling it).
I couldn't find any stats on how many hit points each ton of armour has. I'm assuming it's something like 5 or 6, because of some descriptions of weapons talking about how much armour they can strip per shot. Using that as an estimate, the way I divided my spider's armour is so that it would take 3 hits from an AC/2 (acey-deucey, I'ma call it) to cripple one of its legs. And much more than that to pierce the body (although the weakest point would be the rear, where the reactor is, probably an AC/10 could punch through that part in one shot... plus the PPC turret on top is also exposed and vulnerable, though I could shield it with the front legs if I maneuver it right).
Still trying to wrap my think meats around this world and an OC, but still totally in
The weights in BT are so wildly varying that I just threw 12t at the wall. I did a lot of googling mech weights and tanks and still didn't come up with a good idea. Since I wont have heatsinks, I'm considering now that a gas weapon might be best, lest I overheat a laser or railgun. (also I have a kneejerk hatred of the term "gundam" because I think they look so 80s, and not in the good way.) I really like this aesthetic, not to scale of course:
Valtiel, do you have an idea you're leaning toward? Maybe we can throw inspiration at your forehead and spontaneously make a eureka.
Valtiel, do you have an idea you're leaning toward? Maybe we can throw inspiration at your forehead and spontaneously make a eureka.
I think i just need to re-read everything. Do you have a bullet point of the it all yet? @.@ if not, i can totally volunteer to do that as that helps me lol
did you see this thread? Group RP - .:MechPilots:. Flesh, Steel, Honor and Fire. - Character Compendium and Lore
Nope, Thank you! I fail xD
It took a couple read-throughs to find it again, too.
Let me see if I can summarize:
- New mechs cannot be built, and so everything revolves around repairing and refitting ancient machines dug up from a long past era.
- Operating a mech is very complicated and so only an elite caste of people are trained to do it. They are organized as houses in a feudal structure, like how historically you needed the output of several farms and a retinue of servants to equip and support each knight in the field.
- The best way to fight is to try to kill the enemy pilot without damaging the rest of the mech too much, so that you can salvage it for your own side.
- Mechs fall into two categories, BT and AT, where BT mechs are big, heavy, and slow, like battleships on legs, and AT mechs are more agile and can move more like humans do. BT mechs are older tech, but the parts to repair them are more widely available, while AT mechs suffer from a rarity of parts.
- There is a poorly understood enemy out there that corrupts mechs and their pilots and turns them into abominations. We are going to be fighting this thing.
- We are mercenaries working for a company called RUPIC, under a contract that says you fight for them for 6 years, repairs are free, if you die, they keep your mech, if you survive, you'll have made so much money you can retire comfortably.
- Your character should have lost all his/her comrades recently, so you're left now without a lance, and maybe feeling some PTSD and survivor's guilt.
- A good source of information on BT mechs is sarna.net
- Mechs typically operate in small groups called lances. Common roles within a lance are Brawler (optimized for high damage and toughness, like a battleship), Missile Boat (optimized for long range attacks), Skirmisher (balanced for toughness and speed, like a cruiser), Striker (optimized for speed and damage, like a destroyer), Scout (optimized for speed and sensors, to locate enemy positions, like a frigate or patrol boat), Ambusher (optimized for surprise and high damage, like a sub?).
- Mechs are classed by weight: Ultra-light (10-15 tons), Light (20-35 tons), Medium (40-55 tons), Heavy (60-75 tons), Assault (80-100 tons). Typically the heavier the mech is, the more powerful it is in battle, same as in boxing. The lightweights can move fast, but it only takes one power punch from Mike Tyson to drop you. Speed tends to be upwards of 100kph/60mph for the lighter mechs, and closer to 50kph/30mph for the heavier ones.
- Some mechs, like mine, use rockets to jump in the air for short distances, but most of them don't, because jets are heavy and take up a lot of space.
- Mech weapons generally break down into cannons, lasers, and missiles. Cannons are heavy as fuck, including the weight of the ammo, but they can do a lot of damage quickly for very little heat gain. Lasers are very cost-efficient, but they generate a lot of heat, so you can't fire them too often or your mech will shut down. This also includes particle cannons (PPCs). Missiles are a good compromise of weight vs. heat, but the ammo is expensive. Missiles break down into short-range (forward-firing, within 270m) and long-range (arc-firing, up to 600m). Lasers are categorized as small, medium, and large, with the bigger sizes having greater range, damage, and heat. Cannons are categorized by the damage they do (2, 5, 10, or 20), with the bigger guns having shorter range, way more weight, and much more expensive shells (even more expensive than missiles, oddly enough).
- If your mech overheats, it will get very uncomfortable in the cockpit, and then the mech will shut down for safety reasons. If you override the shutdown, it can explode. Heat dissipates slowly over time, depending on how many heat sinks you have. To go from shutdown level to fully cooled takes between 3 and 5 minutes.
- Wishbone is playing a big huge guy who rose up the ranks from commoner to adopted noble, and he pilots a 100-ton assault mech loaded with cannons and thick armour (brawler)
- I'm playing a chick whose home colony was destroyed by the monsters, and she pilots a 50-ton quadruped mech that uses an extended-range PPC to pick at enemies from a distance (skirmisher/ambusher)
- Mister Brown is playing some kind of genetic experiment, it looks like, who pilots a nimble and versatile AT mech with articulated fingers (scout)
- New mechs cannot be built, and so everything revolves around repairing and refitting ancient machines dug up from a long past era.
- Operating a mech is very complicated and so only an elite caste of people are trained to do it. They are organized as houses in a feudal structure, like how historically you needed the output of several farms and a retinue of servants to equip and support each knight in the field.
- The best way to fight is to try to kill the enemy pilot without damaging the rest of the mech too much, so that you can salvage it for your own side.
- Mechs fall into two categories, BT and AT, where BT mechs are big, heavy, and slow, like battleships on legs, and AT mechs are more agile and can move more like humans do. BT mechs are older tech, but the parts to repair them are more widely available, while AT mechs suffer from a rarity of parts.
- There is a poorly understood enemy out there that corrupts mechs and their pilots and turns them into abominations. We are going to be fighting this thing.
- We are mercenaries working for a company called RUPIC, under a contract that says you fight for them for 6 years, repairs are free, if you die, they keep your mech, if you survive, you'll have made so much money you can retire comfortably.
- Your character should have lost all his/her comrades recently, so you're left now without a lance, and maybe feeling some PTSD and survivor's guilt.
- A good source of information on BT mechs is sarna.net
- Mechs typically operate in small groups called lances. Common roles within a lance are Brawler (optimized for high damage and toughness, like a battleship), Missile Boat (optimized for long range attacks), Skirmisher (balanced for toughness and speed, like a cruiser), Striker (optimized for speed and damage, like a destroyer), Scout (optimized for speed and sensors, to locate enemy positions, like a frigate or patrol boat), Ambusher (optimized for surprise and high damage, like a sub?).
- Mechs are classed by weight: Ultra-light (10-15 tons), Light (20-35 tons), Medium (40-55 tons), Heavy (60-75 tons), Assault (80-100 tons). Typically the heavier the mech is, the more powerful it is in battle, same as in boxing. The lightweights can move fast, but it only takes one power punch from Mike Tyson to drop you. Speed tends to be upwards of 100kph/60mph for the lighter mechs, and closer to 50kph/30mph for the heavier ones.
- Some mechs, like mine, use rockets to jump in the air for short distances, but most of them don't, because jets are heavy and take up a lot of space.
- Mech weapons generally break down into cannons, lasers, and missiles. Cannons are heavy as fuck, including the weight of the ammo, but they can do a lot of damage quickly for very little heat gain. Lasers are very cost-efficient, but they generate a lot of heat, so you can't fire them too often or your mech will shut down. This also includes particle cannons (PPCs). Missiles are a good compromise of weight vs. heat, but the ammo is expensive. Missiles break down into short-range (forward-firing, within 270m) and long-range (arc-firing, up to 600m). Lasers are categorized as small, medium, and large, with the bigger sizes having greater range, damage, and heat. Cannons are categorized by the damage they do (2, 5, 10, or 20), with the bigger guns having shorter range, way more weight, and much more expensive shells (even more expensive than missiles, oddly enough).
- If your mech overheats, it will get very uncomfortable in the cockpit, and then the mech will shut down for safety reasons. If you override the shutdown, it can explode. Heat dissipates slowly over time, depending on how many heat sinks you have. To go from shutdown level to fully cooled takes between 3 and 5 minutes.
- Wishbone is playing a big huge guy who rose up the ranks from commoner to adopted noble, and he pilots a 100-ton assault mech loaded with cannons and thick armour (brawler)
- I'm playing a chick whose home colony was destroyed by the monsters, and she pilots a 50-ton quadruped mech that uses an extended-range PPC to pick at enemies from a distance (skirmisher/ambusher)
- Mister Brown is playing some kind of genetic experiment, it looks like, who pilots a nimble and versatile AT mech with articulated fingers (scout)