Roleplaying Previews

Mecha SRD Extreme

An 9-paged Mecha SRD Extreme preview can be downloaded at the end of this page. The following text and illustrations are only a small example.

Extreme Feats

Battlefield Tactics

You’re combat experience and natural abilities allow you to direct combat operations while in the middle of battle.
Prerequisites: Leadership, Int 13+.
Benefit: When in combat, anyone within communications range who is in the same combat gains a +1 unnamed bonus to all attack rolls. As long as one person in combat with you remains unflanked no one in combat with you can be flanked.

Cold Start (Mecha Type)

You’re skilled at starting your mecha quickly when you need to.
Prerequisite: (Mecha) Operation.
Benefit:If your mecha has the defect “start-up time” (see p. 47) you reduce the start-up time by 1/2.
Special: This feat may be taken multiple times, once for each type of (Mecha) Operation.

Electronic Warfare Mastery

Prerequisite: Int 14+; Electronic Warfare.
Benefit: The character gains a +2 competence bonus on Computer Use checks with mecha sensors (such as radar).
Special: If the character takes a full action to monitor a sensor, he or she gets a +4 bonus on Computer Use checks with it.

Elite (Mecha) Operation

This is several different Feats, sometimes known as Elite Aircraft Operation, Elite Spacecraft Operation, Elite Surface Vehicle Operation, etc. The character is an elite pilot of the chosen mecha type.
Prerequisite: (Mecha) Operation.
Benefit: The character gains a +2 competence bonus on Drive or Pilot checks or attack rolls made when operating a craft of the selected class. Special: The character can gain this Feat multiple times. Each time the character takes the Feat, the character selects a different class of mecha.

Grizzled Veteran

You’ve spent years piloting mecha in combat operations.
Prerequisite: Age 35+. Benefit: You gain a +2 unnamed bonus on all skill checks and attack rolls when piloting a mecha.
Special: This feat may be taken twice; the second time must be no less than 5 years game time after the feat is first taken. The bonus is +4.

Improved Giant Robot Dodge

Prerequisite: Giant Robot Dodge.
Benefit: The dodge bonus is increased to +3.

Improved Vehicle Dodge

Prerequisite: Vehicle Dodge.
Benefit: The dodge bonus is increased to +3.

Energy-Absorbing Alien

Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 6d8 (27 hp)
Initiative: 0
Speed: 5 ft., fly 10 ft. (poor)
Armor Class: 12 (+2 natural)
Attacks: 3 tentacles, 1 bite
Damage: 1d6 tentacles, 1d4 bite
Face/Reach:5 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Energy Drain
Special Qualities: Blindsight, Flight, Hive Mind
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +6
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 11, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Intimidate +8, Listen +2, Search +4
Feats: Iron Will, Power Attack
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Organization: Team (2-4) or platoon (12-24)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Advancement: 7-12 HD (large), 13-18 HD (huge)

One cold winter night, a meteor crashed to the Earth, Over the next few days dark, twisted creatures emerged from the crater. Within a matter of weeks these terrible, octopus-like invaders had seized hundreds of miles of territory. Thousands were killed in these first few weeks. Now it’s time to fight back.

Combat

These aliens attack in groups, tearing at mecha or people with their tentacles and biting when possible. These creatures are drawn to energy sources and must consume at least one large-size source of power each week or else they die. While their bites cannot hurt mecha, their tentacles can.

Energy Drain (Su): By plunging their tentacles into a power source, these creatures can drain it completely. For every round a tentacle remains in contact with an energy source the creature drains one day of power. To get to the source the creature must either decrease the hit points of the target by 50% or score a critical on the target. Blindsight (Su): The large, black eyes of these creatures are completely worthless. These twisted aliens “see” much like bats. Using this ability is a free action and gives them the ability to “see” in a 360º arc.

Flight (Ex): These bizarre aliens fly by inflating their bodies with a natural gas created within themselves. They appear to levitate and may hover in a single position if desired.

Hive Mind (Ex): All aliens within 20 miles of each other share a constant link. If one creature in the group is not flat-footed than none of them are. They cannot be flanked unless they are all flanked.

Use in Campaigns

DMs could design a complete campaign around these strange creatures or use them as a change of pace. The invading alien is a common element in many sci-fi stories and mecha are no stranger to battling creatures from the stars.

The CR of these monsters could make it difficult for low-level characters to deal with them. Luckily, the army is usually close behind.

Note: Much of this work is based on Possessors: Children of the Outer Gods by Philip Reed and Christopher Shy. Possessors can be found at www.rpgnow.com. There’s a very good chance that these creatures are an advanced form of possessor that, through exposure to technology, lost their dominating powers and gaining energy absorbing ones. An idea from Possessors that would work well in a mecha campaign is the creatures’ queen, an alien monster that orbits the Earth. The chance to fly into space and blast the queen should not be overlooked.

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