by the fans for the fans

Ok,

lets face it. The new edition of the Robotech RPG from Palladium is basically a hash. Most of the glaring mistakes with the system were not addressed in any way, shape or form. Instead of adding a 3rd Tier of Damage Resistance (in-between SDC & MDC), which would have greatly improved the situation, Kevin S. basically made Robotech straight-up compatible with Rifts Munchkin..err..Ultimate Edition. So, in the spirit of being a gamer and wanting to do something about it, I offer an alternative to both the cumbersome Palladium System and the d20 System (which is the other system I see people converting to most times). Instead, I propose to use OpenD6 which was one of the last acts of West End Games apparently. Many thanks to Eric Gibson, owner of WEG, for having the courage to Open Source the D6 Engine.

From time to time, I will update this thread as I go about converting the various Robotech mecha and so forth to D6. I'm going to concentrate on my 'non-canon' version that replaces the troublesome Macross mecha (*GASP*, say it ain't so, Buffalo Bill!) with the Macross-like mecha from The Sentinels, comics and old RPG from years past. As well, I will be using a number of the designs provided by Roger Harkavy from the Imai Files (once again, thank you very much Roger). Yes, this makes it Alternate Robotech (and/or Fan-Fiction). I don't give a shit and for those of you who feel you must take pot-shots at me and/or denigrate me, here's a hearty Fuck Off and Drop Dead (just to get that out of the way now).

The best way to utilize this thread will be with one of the several WEG D6 products: D6 Space, mostly (which is a free .pdf on the web) or Bill Coffin's Septimus (which the QuickStart rules are also free, somewhere on the Web). Alternately, if you're like me and and old-time Star Wars D6 fan, the main book for that could be useful.

So, first up I offer the various Homo Sapiens derived races in the Alternate Robotech universe. Just as a note, successful interbreeding is possible for any of these races and I may go into further hybrids later (or not, you probably could make any offspring follow either parent's genetic/cultural paradigm). All Player Characters have 1D in each of their attributes: DEXTERITY, STRENGTH, KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION, MECHANICAL, TECHNICAL. Their base template will determine how many additional Die and Pips (if any) are able to add to the base. Cultural paradigm determines the number of Starting Skill Die and Pips (if any). Merits/Flaws (Advantages/Disadvantages mostly as per D6 Space and/or Septimus) will get further explanations in the next post. This particular section may change from time to time as others give feedback/criticism in an effort to re-balance things.

Homo Sapiens Sapiens
Attributes: 12D
Skills: 7D
Merits/Flaws: 1:1 Basis (10pts max starting)

Homo Sapiens Zentraedis
Attributes: 12D+2
Skills: 7D+2
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Masters or The Disciples of Zor, The Invid; cannot be bought off), Psychological Hindrance (Rank 2: The Imperative; cannot be bought off)

Homo Sapiens Tirolianis
Attributes: 13D
Skills: 8D
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Disciples of Zor, The Invid; cannot be bought off), Achilles Heel: Nutritional (Rank 1: Bio-Energy Supplement; cannot be bought off)

Earthling/Zentraedi Hybird
Attributes: 12D+1
Skills: 7D
Merits/Flaws: Psychological Hindrance (Rank 1: The Imperative; cannot be bought off)

Homo Sapiens Praxianis (Females only, Males use Homo Sapiens Sapiens Attributes)
Attributes: 12+2
Skills: 7D+1
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Disciples of Zor, The Invid; cannot be bought off), Psychological Hindrance (Rank 1: Arrogance; cannot be bought off)

Homo Sapiens Perytonianis ('Energy Wizards')
Attributes: 12D+1
Skills: 8D
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Disciples of Zor, The Invid; cannot be bought off), Psychological Hindrance (Rank 1: Arrogance; cannot be bought off), Advanced Equipment (Rank 1: Cyberware that mimics 'spells').

SWITCH TO DECAFF.. DOES WONDERS.

Hyuk, hyuk! Anything else from The Peanut Gallery?

Hi Brooklyn Red Leg,

I agree with you - Palladium games have disappointed me again and again. I too have been working on a conversion of Robotech to the D6 system ever since I found a conversion by Will Serwetman. It looks easy to play, straightforward and without clumsy rules like in the original Robotech RPG. I just did a google search of "robotech rpg.doc" to find this conversion.

It is based on the star wars 2nd edition rules (by West End Games) but I want to convert it over fully to the Open D6 system. It looks like alot of the work has been done, however, it is missing some equipment, mecha and all of the enemies. It needs work, but is a great starting point.

Maybe we can work together on this?

-teedeeus

teedeeus wrote:

It is based on the star wars 2nd edition rules (by West End Games) but I want to convert it over fully to the Open D6 system.

That's basically what I'm doing as well. I use rules from D6 Space (such as Advantages/Disadvantages) and Star Wars 2nd Edition Revised & Expanded (such as Scale). Some of the stuff that was good about SW2.E was removed from D6 Space, so its sort of a balancing act to recombine them as well as come up with new solutions to existing problems (removing the over-use of double randomization so as to speed up play).

It looks like alot of the work has been done, however, it is missing some equipment, mecha and all of the enemies. It needs work, but is a great starting point.

I'm just starting, actually. This is more of a work in progress.

Maybe we can work together on this?

Sure, why not? Its always more useful to have someone to bounce ideas off of and see if it works. Besides, we might end up not using the same rules, per se, depending upon how we want to run the game. I prefer Cinematic Combat (ala Star Wars) so there are Wild Die, Mooks/Lieutenants/Bosses, Fate Points (same idea as Force Points) and other options as they present themselves (one poster at WEG Fan Forums has something called 'Fistful of Dice' to alleviate the headache of chucking so many dice when you use Fate Points etc).

Brooklyn Red Leg wrote:

That's basically what I'm doing as well. I use rules from D6 Space (such as Advantages/Disadvantages) and Star Wars 2nd Edition Revised & Expanded (such as Scale). Some of the stuff that was good about SW2.E was removed from D6 Space, so its sort of a balancing act to recombine them as well as come up with new solutions to existing problems (removing the over-use of double randomization so as to speed up play).

That sounds good. We can have rules for both people who prefer the SW2.E (Which I remember but do not have) and also for the D6 Space, which is what I'll basically be working from.

I'm just starting, actually. This is more of a work in progress.

Me too. I want to get my son into Robotech (he's 11) but I don't want to stab myself in the eye because of Palladium's(tm) rules. btw, I found the link to the d6 Robotech game I was telling you about. It's here: http://www.ninjalawyer.com/public/ROBOTECH%20RPG.doc
No need to reinvent what has already been done, right? And It does use the SW2.E rules for scale.

Sure, why not? Its always more useful to have someone to bounce ideas off of and see if it works. Besides, we might end up not using the same rules, per se, depending upon how we want to run the game. I prefer Cinematic Combat (ala Star Wars) so there are Wild Die, Mooks/Lieutenants/Bosses, Fate Points (same idea as Force Points) and other options as they present themselves (one poster at WEG Fan Forums has something called 'Fistful of Dice' to alleviate the headache of chucking so many dice when you use Fate Points etc).

I prefer the cinematic combat as well. The more options the better.

-teedeeus

teedeeus wrote:

btw, I found the link to the d6 Robotech game I was telling you about.No need to reinvent what has already been done, right? And It does use the SW2.E rules for scale.

I had to convert that to .pdf to be able to read it, but as far as I skimmed it, it appears to be a solid base from which to work. The only criticism I would have for it is that it appears to use the antiquated Palladium RPG 1st edition continuity (which is ok, in and of itself, but its not what I'm basing my stuff upon). I was rather taken aback when I saw the EP-37 does 7D Mecha scale damage!

Anyway, just for fun, here is my own initial scale breakdown (this may be further revised as time goes on):

Character
Ex. - Player Characters (duh!), Small Arms, Body Armor
Vehicle
Ex. - Cyclones, regular (non-armored) vehicles, Heavy Weapon Damage
Battloid
Ex. - Any mecha 3.5m or taller, armored vehicles (tanks, AIFVs etc)
Shuttle
Ex. - Any vehicle between 20m to 90m in length (Titan-class GMU, Pegasus-class Assault Shuttle etc), most reinforced buildings, Light Anti-Ship Weaponry
Capital
Ex. - Any vehicle larger than 100m, Reinforced Subsurface Berths, Space Stations, SDF-series warships etc.
Planet
Ex. - Moons, Planets, Stars, large space stations (like The Robotech Repair Factory/Space Station Liberty); generally any object over 20km in size.

I generally keep the old Die Caps rule from SW2E (which was dropped from Revised & Expanded) to prevent the kind of over-the-top possible damage with Revised & Expanded.

Edit: BTW, might I suggest West End Games Fan Site Forums (where the D6 Resurrection Project is underway). One of the posters, Prime Evil, posted a fairly good Attribute Scale.

1D - Feeble
1D+1 - Very Poor
1D+2 - Poor
2D - Slightly Below Average
2D+1 - Human Average
2D+2 - Slightly Above Average
3D - Exceptional
3D+1 - Incredible
3D+2 - Outstanding
4D - Amazing
5D+ - Superhuman

Most Homo Sapiens Sapiens players should not be able to have beyond 4D on ANY attribute, though you could make an exception: spend DOUBLE the regular Attribute Cost to raise each pip above 4D to a max of 5D on ONE attribute only.

Mooks, no matter what race, should probably not have beyond 2D+1 for any attributes (they're Mooks, after all). Some could go as low as 1D+2 depending.

Another poster, Whill, suggested this (which is basically what I'll be using for Skill levels):

1D Below human average for a skill.
2D Untrained human average for many skills
3D Average level of training for a human
4D Professional level of training for a human
5D Above average expertise
6D Considered about the best in a city or geographic area.
7D Among the best on a world.
8D One of the best in a sector.
9D One of the best in a region.
10D One of the best in the galaxy.

That would put people like Max, Miriya, Dana, Zor Prime, Scott Bernard, Corg up to 10D on 1 or 2 skills. Of course, you'd have exceptions that are BEYOND this level such as the original Zor himself or someone like Dolza. Probably need to come up with a Character Point spending system for raising skills above 6D (say, double the Character Point expenditure). This prevents the 'Fistful of Dice' syndrome I remember when playing a Jedi (I can clearly remember chucking 14D6+ a few times due to Force Point expenditures).

Anyway, here is the link to the forums in particular, some really good stuff there:

www.wegfansite.com/forum/index.php

Ok, here is a basic skill list. I may add to it or subtract from it as time goes on.

AGILITY
Acrobatics
Brawling
Dodge
Melee Combat
Missile Weapons
Riding
Running
Sleight of Hand
Small Arms
Thrown Weapons
Zero-G Ops

STRENGTH
Climb/Jump
Lift
Martial Arts
Stamina
Swim

MECHANICAL
Communications
Gunnery
Battloid/Destroid Operation
Powered Armor Operation
Navigation
Piloting
Sensors
Capital Ship Shields
Vehicle Operation

KNOWLEDGE
Bureaucracy
Business
Cultures
Intimidation
Languages
Military Regulations
Scholar
Security Regulations
Streetwise
Survival
Tactics
Willpower

PERCEPTION
Artist
Bargain
Command
Con
Forgery
Gambling
Hide
Investigation
Know-how
Persuasion
Search
Sneak

TECHNICAL
Aerospace Engineering
Armor Repair
Battloid/Destroid Repair
Capital Ship Repair
Computer Operation
Computer Engineering
Computer Repair
Demolitions
Demolitions Disposal
First Aid
Flight Systems Repair
Gunnery Repair
Medicine
Powered Armor Repair
Nanotech Engineering
Robotech Engineering
Security
Small Arms Engineering
Small Arms Repair
Vehicle Engineering
Vehicle Repair

Given that most Player Characters would be in the Military, there needs to be an MOS System (Military Occupational Specialty) that gives the basic skills package with which a player would be familiar. As time goes on, more MOS's will be added. So far, all I've gotten is Infantry (to use an example).

MOS: 11B (Infantry)
Dodge
Melee Combat
Small Arms
Thrown Weapons
Climb/Lift
Martial Arts
Stamina
Military Regulations
Search
Sneak
Small Arms Repair

A starting Homo Sapiens Sapiens PC would select his MOS (Infantry), pick a handful of additional/background skills (say, 5 additional) and then distribute 7D to those skills. Probably have to say that the Player has to put at least 4D worth into his MOS. No skill can be above 5D at start.

Brooklyn Red Leg wrote:

I had to convert that to .pdf to be able to read it, but as far as I skimmed it, it appears to be a solid base from which to work. The only criticism I would have for it is that it appears to use the antiquated Palladium RPG 1st edition continuity (which is ok, in and of itself, but its not what I'm basing my stuff upon). I was rather taken aback when I saw the EP-37 does 7D Mecha scale damage!

I was looking at that too - I think it works out fine, because it seems like the rules don't differentiate between different classes of damage per say, it's just damage. The cyclone armor gives +5D to damage resistance, combined with the average human's 2D of body equals 7D. That seems reasonable to me. When in Battleoid mode the armor has an armor value of 8D. I would probably give an Invid scout a body of 6D. They're supposed to be cannon-fodder, right? I was planning on using just the basic wound levels. I think it would work well for mecha combat too, but have not yet had the chance to play it. I know this seems like throwing alot of dice. I don't have a problem with that. There is a section in the back of the open D6 books about reducing the number of dice you need to throw.

Anyway, just for fun, here is my own initial scale breakdown (this may be further revised as time goes on):

I like the breakdown you have here.

I generally keep the old Die Caps rule from SW2E (which was dropped from Revised & Expanded) to prevent the kind of over-the-top possible damage with Revised & Expanded.

I've been reading the scale section of D6 space (page 83) and I like how that seems to work. It seems simple and effective, but I have not had an opportunity to play with it yet.

Edit: BTW, might I suggest West End Games Fan Site Forums (where the D6 Resurrection Project is underway). One of the posters, Prime Evil, posted a fairly good Attribute Scale.

Most Homo Sapiens Sapiens players should not be able to have beyond 4D on ANY attribute, though you could make an exception: spend DOUBLE the regular Attribute Cost to raise each pip above 4D to a max of 5D on ONE attribute only.

Agreed.

Mooks, no matter what race, should probably not have beyond 2D+1 for any attributes (they're Mooks, after all). Some could go as low as 1D+2 depending.

mooks - lol

Another poster, Whill, suggested this (which is basically what I'll be using for Skill levels):

That would put people like Max, Miriya, Dana, Zor Prime, Scott Bernard, Corg up to 10D on 1 or 2 skills. Of course, you'd have exceptions that are BEYOND this level such as the original Zor himself or someone like Dolza. Probably need to come up with a Character Point spending system for raising skills above 6D (say, double the Character Point expenditure). This prevents the 'Fistful of Dice' syndrome I remember when playing a Jedi (I can clearly remember chucking 14D6+ a few times due to Force Point expenditures).

This looks really good. I'm curious as to what you think of using the 'Die Code Simplification' chart on page 142 od D6 Space?

Anyway, here is the link to the forums in particular, some really good stuff there:

www.wegfansite.com/forum/index.php

I've been lurking around there a bit today already

-teedeeus

Ok,

now for a few more player races assuming people want to play in The Sentinels era or The Haydonite Wars (or beyond).

Karbarran Urisinoid
Attributes: 12D+2 (Minimum 3D+1 for STR)
Skills: 7D
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Invid; cannot be bought off)

Garudan Vulpinoid
Attributes: 12D+2 (Minimum 3D+1 in AGILITY)
Skills: 7D
Metaphysics: 2D
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Invid; cannot be bought off), Metaphysical Sensitive (The Hin, racial 'psychics'), Environmental Incompatibility (Rank 4: Must have Garudan re-breather unit)

Note: Since this can be an incredibly unbalancing race to play, I suggest limiting the types of Psychic powers (no Physical Shield etc) allowed. Might also want to introduce Corruption Rules (modified) from either Star Wars or Septimus to keep players from doing really awful stuff (Mind Controlling another character etc). Unlike the Perytonians (who have implanted cyberware that mimics 'spells'), the Garudans can improve their powers by CP expenditure.

Sperisian Crystaloid
Attributes: 12D
Skills: 7D
Merits/Flaws: Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Invid; cannot be bought off), Natural Armor (+3 to Resist Laser & Particle Beams, Slug-thrower Soft Ammo smaller than 12.7mm does no damage), Equipment (Rank 1: Sperisian Laser Rod), Special Ability (Dis-corporate: can temporarily abandon their body and travel through solid rock and earth as long as there is a crystal formation within 2000m of their location)

Haydonite Cyborg
Attributes: 13D+2
Skills: 10D
Merits/Flaws Enemy (Rank 3: The Invid; cannot be bought off - After The Haydonite Wars, just about damn near every galactic civilization), Secretive (Rank 1 Social Flaw: Haydonites refuse to talk about themselves, their origins or their connection to the legend of Haydon; cannot be bought off)

Note: Given how the Invid despise The Haydonites, the only reason the Regent and Regess did not attempt to turn their homeworld into smoking rubble had more to do with the formidable defenses of Haydon III, Haydon IV and Haydon V (Dyson Swarm). After the end of The Haydonite Wars and the destruction of Haydon III & The Awareness, the Haydonites have few friends and almost no one trusts them. Those who fought for the Humans during the Wars (led by Veidt) spend the rest of their existence as sort-of ambassadors and good-will workers. Generally speaking, Solugi Invid (Human Invid) will go out of their way to attack Haydonites on the slightest provocation.

Aspis Insectoids
Attributes: 12D+1 (3D+2 STR minimum)
Skills: 7D
Merits/Flaws: Natural Armor (Hardened Carapace: +3 to Resist slug-throwing soft-ammo below 12.7mm), Hive-mind (Natural pheromone-based communication with any other Aspis) Culture Unfamiliarity (Rank 1; cannot be bought off), Enemy (Rank 1: The Invid; cannot be bought off)

Note: This is my own take on one of the designs from the preproduction materials of The Sentinels. Looked vaguely insectile and Insectoids are always popular (Verpine, anyone?).



Incidentally, Aspis means 'Shield' in Ancient Greek (at least according to the Wikipedia) and when it popped into my brain, I knew I had heard the term somewhere. I think it fits given that the race in question is supposed to have a hardened carapace.