▸▸ℍeavy Metal Magellan◂◂ free-form, original mech roleplay (full)

[Urbanzorro]

Ok, so "soon" wasn't quite as soon as I thought... Anyway, here is my character please let me know if anything needs to be changed.

Name: Leonardo Staltz
Rank: Corporal Military
Role: Mech Pilot
Nicknames:  Leo
Callsign:  Chuckles
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Hetero
Height: 5" 9'
Weight: 180lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Skin: White
Physique: Muscularly Slim
Distinguishing Marks: Leo has a medical scar where his appendix used to be. He also has and additional set of scars over both of his kidneys.

Appearance: 

Bio:  Leo was born in space.... well more specifically he was born on a ship which was in transit from Earth to the Lunar colonies. His father and mother were both factory workers in one of the factories which produced munitions for combat mechs. They did their best to raise their boy to be a decent man, attempting to instill in him a desire for a calm and peaceful life. However, as Leo grew he steadily developed a greater and greater fixation with the mechs which his parent's worked to keep armed. Leo saw them as 'cool' and 'awesome' as time passed he went from wanting to learn about them to wanting to see one, and then on to his desire to pilot mechs.

Leo would have loved to have been able to pilot his own private mech in the pro fighting circuits. But he lacked the money or connections to be able to do so, and instead he settled for what he saw as the next best thing, and his only realistic way of getting into the cockpit. He joined the military. During basic training Leo showed strong reflexes, and the aptitude necessary to qualify for mech pilot school which he quickly signed up for of course. Over the course of his training Leo proved to be both a dedicated and skilled student. During the course of Leo's training he volunteered for a procedure to have his adrenal glands modified so that his body would produce larger levels of adrenaline. The intended result was to sharpen the volunteers' reaction speeds and increase their aggression, the results varied and Leo claims to not feel any difference. Eventually Leo graduated with top marks as a fully qualified pilot.

That was three weeks ago, Leo was in fact heading to report to his first posting when the transport met with it's issues. As things started to go sour, there was no way in hell that Leo had come this far only to abandon his mech, so he opted to stay.

Equipment/Gear (Grabbed before entering the Mech's Storage Container):  Spare clothing, basic toiletries, several MREs, & his service pistol.

Chassis:  Light Combat Core
Model:  RU-39 Mustang
Weight Class:  Light
Weight:  Standard Load:27 Tons Max Load 32 Tons
Height: 7.7 Meters (25.26 Feet)
Top Speed:  241 KPH (150 MPH)
Mech Name:  Jack
Armaments (Standard Layout): 

M-340 Auto-Cannon (Fixed) The M-340 is the heaviest weapon on the RU-39 Mustang. It is a rapid firing, heavy caliber, projectile weapon designed to fill the role that a light machine gun fills for an infantry squad. It is capable of damaging any class of targets and provides the RU-39 with an effective fire support option at all ranges. The auto-cannon's major drawback is that it's recoil is so powerful that the RU-39 can only utilize the M-340 when it's reactor output is focused towards it's weapon systems.

T-97 Laser Projector (Fixed) A tight beam laser projector, the T-97's design is originally based off of industrial cutting tools, however an increased power conduit and additional focusing lenses have allowed for the creation of a highly effective weapons platform. The T-97 fires an extremely short range, but heavily focused, laser beam which is capable of penetrating almost any material know to man. It's drawbacks are a very low rate of fire, and the fact that the beam dissipates before it can even strike targets at medium range. 


Armaments (Non-Standard):  List any additional and/or replaced weapons on the mech.

M-107 Flame Projector(Non-Fixed) The M-107 is a mech sized flame thrower, designed to allow it's user the ability to engage conventional forces in the most efficient means possible. The level of heat that the M-107's flames create allow the weapon to be effective against infantry, light vehicles, and even tanks. Against other mechs the M-107 is incapable of dealing direct physical damage and it's only use is in attempting to overheat the opposing mech's systems. This, coupled with the weapon's obvious close range requirements make the M-107 a useful, yet highly specific, weapon.

M-75 Combat Shotgun(Non-Fixed) A basic shotgun style weapon, the M-75 is meant to be used as a defense against light and medium mechs at close range where the concussive and penetrative force of the weapon's projectiles are at their highest. Against anything larger than medium class mechs the M-75 begins to lose effectiveness as it lacks the penetrative power needed to make it through the armor that such mechs possess. 

Subsystems (Standard and Nonstandard): 

Target Designation Beam A infrared laser that is directed at the RU-39's current target and 'paints' said target with infrared light. When an enemy is painted by the beam any units who's communications systems are connected with the RU-39 will have an easier time hitting the target. The Target Designation Beam deactivates whenever the RU-39's reactor is focused on mobility.

"Wild Weasel" Decoy System The "Wild Weasel" system is made up of several unmanned aerial drones stored within the RU-39 once activated one of these drones will launch from the RU-39 and begin a rapid flight away from the mech. Once in flight the drone will begin to broadcast an electronic signature that is identical to that of the RU-39, serving as a decoy against enemy radar, missiles, and even the targeting systems of mechs with less sophisticated sensors. The standard load for the system is 15 drones. Each drone can return to the mech upon command, assuming it is not shot down and still has enough fuel for the return trip. The decoy system is shut down when the RU-39 has it's power output focused towards weaponry.

Jump Jets A set of high powered jump jets designed to allow the RU-39 to navigate terrain that would normally be inaccessible to it. The jump jets allow the RU-39 to quite literally jump into the air and safely land at either higher or lower elevations. When the RU-39's reactor is focused on it's weapon systems the jump jets are inoperable.

Redirectable Reactor The RU-39's pilot can, at any time, focus the mech's reactor and power conduits to provide additional energy to either the mech's weapon systems at the cost of decreased mobility or to the mech's legs at the cost of it's weapon systems. While this shift in reactor output can be quickly achieved with the simple flick of a switch it takes the RU-39's reactor a considerable amount of time to store enough energy for any supplemental shifts. This means that rapidly switching between one setting to the next is something that the RU-39 is incapable of doing.

• Balance Power System: When the mech's power system is balanced the RU-39 is capable of making use of all of its systems with the exception of it's auto-cannon, and jump jets.
• Direct Power to Weapons: When power is directed towards the RU-39's weapon systems the mech is now able to make use of it's auto cannon but suffers decreased mobility, and cannot make use of it's jump jets or it's decoy system.
• Direct Power to Mobility: With power directed towards mobility the RU-39 becomes able to make use of it's jump jets, and it gains increased speeds. However it is unable to make use of the Target Designation Beam, the M-340 Auto Cannon or the T-97 Laser Projector leaving it's hand held guns as it's only weapon systems.

Strengths: 
Hands The RU-39 is equipped with hands, allowing it to use most models of hand held mech weapons

High Moblity The RU-39 is highly mobile, capable of achieving speeds and preforming maneuvers that many other mechs would never be able to match.

Small Target Profile The RU-39 makes for a relatively small target as far as mechs are concerned.

Adaptable Focus The RU-39 is able to adapt to the conditions it finds itself in. When the mech is completely outmatched or reconnaissance operations are required it can fill a fast moving recon role. And when caught in a stand up fight it can switch over to fill a heavier fire support role allowing it to engage targets of any size and fully support it's fellow units.



Weaknesses: 
Light Armor The RU-39 possesses light armor by mech standards, meaning that most mech class weapons which manage to hit it will be almost guaranteed to cause damage.

Close Range Focus With the exception of a single weapon the RU-39 does not possess the ability to effectively engage targets past medium range.

Crippling Specialization While the RU-39 is capable of filling several roles thanks to its ability to focus on one aspect of its systems or another. This versatility is also a double edged sword. When focused on filling one role the RU-39 loses much of its ability to fill any other. For instance when power is focused to weapons the RU-39 is incapable of filling a reconnaissance role and becomes a much easier target. Inversely when the RU-39 is focused towards mobility it loses it's ability to engage targets at longer ranges and is almost incapable of damaging heavy or colossal class mechs.



Overall Description:  The RU-39 is designed to be a reconnaissance mech with the ability to provide fire support during larger operations. It is capable of many things, though not always at the same time. Its greatest strengths come in the form of it's speed and unpredictability. While it's greatest weaknesses come in it's lack of raw power during most situations.

Equipment/Gear:  A fire extinguisher, first aid kit, oxygen mask, and a few spare oxygen tanks.

[King Serperior]

Well, bearing in mind that I'm not really an expert on guns, but as I understand it, with conventional - expanding gas propelled shell - weapons, the limiting factors for range and power are how much explosive you can pack in the shell, how much explosion the chamber can take before blowing apart, and how long you make the barrel. The first two are obvious, but the latter is actually very important, too. With a longer barrel, the shell spends more time being pushed on by the expanding gas - the moment it leaves the barrel, the gas puffs away to the sides uselessly. That's why long-barrel rifles have better range than pistols, even when using the same ammo.

With rail guns, the limiting factors are (electric) power, and how much the rails can take. The rails are limited by how much physical strain they can take, and how much heat they can dissipate. The heat and strain combine, and if it's more than the rails can take, the rails deform and become useless. Ideally you want to keep those things low enough that you stay below the plasticity point of the rails - the point where once bent, they don't return to their original shape. If you go beyond that point, and I think most real-world rail guns do, every time you fire the rails deform a little bit, and the more power you fire with, the faster that happens. So you have a limit of how many shots you can fire, and at what power, before you have to replace the rails.

Power limitations are really only a big deal for hand-held rail guns. Given that Ragnarok is powered by a fusion reactor, that doesn't seem to be a concern. What Angela would have to worry about would be the rails. She would probably have the power set low enough that they could survive hundreds of shots - if not functionally infinite.

If I were designing the fire control systems for an arena combat mech rail gun, I would give the pilot the ability to control the power. I would set the "standard" setting at, say, something that could punch through 75% of known mechs at a distance of 75% of the way across the arena (unless the rails could handle more without concern, then, fuck yeah more). But I would give the pilot the option of cranking it all the way up to the point where a single shot would fuck up the rails. The logic being that if the pilot gets into a situation where they're facing a massive beast with crazy thick armour, or even a normal mech that's hiding behind cover and sniping, the pilot has the option of dialling it up to 11 and punching through in a single shot to victory. After all, in arena combat, the fight ends when you take out the last target, so while a hail-mary strategy would be stupid for a combat mech, for an arena mech it would be a valid, though ballsy, way to win.

So the tl;dr is that a "default" range of 20-30 km sounds legit, but Angela probably does have the ability to dial it up to the point where she can shoot several hundreds of kilometres. But of course, that would be the one and only shot she gets, unless she can find a way to replace the rails. So it probably wouldn't be an option, except in life-or-death circumstances.

I agree with all of those points.  The Ragnarok's power setting is set for 10 km range (given that the average arena is about 10 square kilometers), but it can be cranked up to give it about 30 kilometers of range without warping the rails, provided she doesn't try 'rapid firing' the projectiles (I.E. try to fire more than three per minute when you take the ammo delivery system shortening the reload process and the three second charge time before firing).  However, I agree that she would have the ability to crank it all the way up to maximum power on an absolute worst case scenario.  I mean, I doubt even a Collosol class mech would survive such a shot at point blank range let alone at the end of a 150km distance!


@Urbanzorro:  It's extremely late for me, so I'll give my thoughts on your character and mech in the morning.  From what I see, I really, really like the mech and concept!

[Urbanzorro]

Sounds good, glad you like it so far.

[King Serperior]

Alrighty, now that I have a good night's sleep, I think I can focus enough to give my full thoughts on this:

Callsign:  Chuckles

While I see no issues, I have to say that that is an interesting callsign. 

Distinguishing Marks: None

Appearance:  Leo has a medical scar where his appendix used to be. He also has and additional set of scars over both of his kidneys.

Scars are considered distinguishing marks.  That said, the scars over his kidneys:  Did he have one removed and replaced by a donated one?  Or did he donate one?  Just curious.

Bio:  Leo was born in space.... well more specifically he was born on a ship which was in transit from Earth to the Lunar colonies. His father and mother were both factory workers in one of the factories which produced munitions for combat mechs. They did their best to raise their boy to be a decent man, attempting to instill in him a desire for a calm and peaceful life. However, as Leo grew he steadily developed a greater and greater fixation with the mechs which his parent's worked to keep armed. Leo saw them as 'cool' and 'awesome' as time passed he went from wanting to learn about them to wanting to see one, and then on to his desire to pilot mechs.

Leo would have loved to have been able to pilot his own private mech in the pro fighting circuits. But he lacked the money or connections to be able to do so, and instead he settled for what he saw as the next best thing, and his only realistic way of getting into the cockpit. He joined the military. During basic training Leo showed strong reflexes, and the aptitude necessary to qualify for mech pilot school which he quickly signed up for of course. Over the course of his training Leo proved to be both a dedicated and skilled student, rising quickly to the upper levels of his class and eventually graduating with top marks as a fully qualified pilot.

That was three weeks ago, Leo was in fact heading to report to his first posting when the transport met with it's issues. As things started to go sour, there was no way in hell that Leo had come this far only to abandon his mech, so he opted to stay.

This all looks good to me.  Hmmm, I wonder how he would react when he finds that a Pro Mech Fighter (Angela) is part of the group since he wanted to join the arena?

Mech Name:  Jack

Loving the mech design so far!  Though, I have to say that 'Jack' is a surprising one for this mech.  I'd have figured it'd be something like 'Mantis' or 'Grasshopper' since it kind of looks like it.  Of course, it's your mech, so name it whatever you like! 

Armaments (Standard Layout): 

M-340 Auto-Cannon (Fixed) The M-340 is the heaviest weapon on the RU-39 Mustang. It is a rapid firing, heavy caliber, projectile weapon designed to fill the role that a light machine gun fills for an infantry squad. It is capable of damaging any class of targets and provides the RU-39 with an effective fire support option at all ranges. The auto-cannon's major drawback is that it's recoil is so powerful that the RU-39 can only utilize the M-340 when it's reactor output is focused towards it's weapon systems.

Sounds good to me.  I like the fact that it is inoperable unless power is directly diverted to it.

T-97 Laser Projector (Fixed) A tight beam laser projector, the T-97's design is originally based off of industrial cutting tools, however an increased power conduit and additional focusing lenses have allowed for the creation of a highly effective weapons platform. The T-97 fires an extremely short range, but heavily focused, laser beam which is capable of penetrating almost any material know to man. It's drawbacks are a very low rate of fire, and the fact that the beam dissipates before it can even strike targets at medium range. 

I really like this one too.  Looks to be the best way to cut through personnel or vehicles that get too close.  A nice, little defensive weapon.

Armaments (Non-Standard):  List any additional and/or replaced weapons on the mech.

M-107 Flame Projector(Non-Fixed) The M-107 is a mech sized flame thrower, designed to allow it's user the ability to engage conventional forces in the most efficient means possible. The level of heat that the M-107's flames create allow the weapon to be effective against infantry, light vehicles, and even tanks. Against other mechs the M-107 is incapable of dealing direct physical damage and it's only use is in attempting to overheat the opposing mech's systems. This, coupled with the weapon's obvious close range requirements make the M-107 a useful, yet highly specific, weapon.

The only thing of note I would like to know about is the location of it's fuel tank(s).  A flamethrower weapon either needs a small tank attached to the weapon itself or a larger one attached to the mech which is connected to the weapon.  Flamethrowers are powerful, but have dangerous drawbacks when under fire (I.E. KABOOM!).  Overall, I like it!

M-75 Combat Shotgun(Non-Fixed) A basic shotgun style weapon, the M-75 is meant to be used as a defense against light and medium mechs at close range where the concussive and penetrative force of the weapon's projectiles are at their highest. Against anything larger than medium class mechs the M-75 begins to lose effectiveness as it lacks the penetrative power needed to make it through the armor that such mechs possess. 

I like the shotgun as well.  Should be useful in getting the 'pesky insects' (humans and lighter mechs) off you from time to time.

Subsystems (Standard and Nonstandard): 

Target Designation Beam A infrared laser that is directed at the RU-39's current target and 'paints' said target with infrared light. When an enemy is painted by the beam any units who's communications systems are connected with the RU-39 will have an easier time hitting the target. The Target Designation Beam deactivates whenever the RU-39's reactor is focused on mobility.

Sounds reasonable and this is the kind of thing mechs like the Ragnarok needs to provide accurate firing with it's Rail Gun.  *nod*

"Wild Weasel" Decoy System The "Wild Weasel" system is made up of several unmanned aerial drones stored within the RU-39 once activated one of these drones will launch from the RU-39 and begin a rapid flight away from the mech. Once in flight the drone will begin to broadcast an electronic signature that is identical to that of the RU-39, serving as a decoy against enemy radar, missiles, and even the targeting systems of mechs with less sophisticated sensors. The decoy system is shut down when the RU-39 has it's power output focused towards weaponry.

*gasp*  Now that is a useful defense!  I really, really love this!  The question is, how many of these drones does the mech carry?  Do they have a maximum distance they can travel?  Is it possible to recover them if they aren't destroyed?  How easy are they to replace?

Redirectable Reactor The RU-39's pilot can, at any time, focus the mech's reactor and power conduits to provide additional energy to either the mech's weapon systems at the cost of decreased mobility or to the mech's legs at the cost of it's weapon systems. While this shift in reactor output can be quickly achieved with the simple flick of a switch it takes the RU-39's reactor a considerable amount of time to store enough energy for any supplemental shifts. This means that rapidly switching between one setting to the next is something that the RU-39 is incapable of doing.

• Balance Power System: When the mech's power system is balanced the RU-39 is capable of making use of all of its systems with the exception of it's auto-cannon, and jump jets.
• Direct Power to Weapons: When power is directed towards the RU-39's weapon systems the mech is now able to make use of it's auto cannon but suffers decreased mobility, and cannot make use of it's jump jets or it's decoy system.
• Direct Power to Mobility: With power directed towards mobility the RU-39 becomes able to make use of it's jump jets, and it gains increased speeds. However it is unable to make use of the Target Designation Beam, the M-340 Auto Cannon or the T-97 Laser Projector leaving it's hand held guns as it's only weapon systems.

Now we get to the meat of the subsystems.  I really, really like this as it allows high adaptability, but at a price.  One of my favorite parts of this mech.

Strengths: 
Hands The RU-39 is equipped with hands, allowing it to use most models of hand held mech weapons

High Moblity The RU-39 is highly mobile, capable of achieving speeds and preforming maneuvers that many other mechs would never be able to match.

Small Target Profile The RU-39 makes for a relatively small target as far as mechs are concerned.

Adaptable Focus The RU-39 is able to adapt to the conditions it finds itself in. When the mech is completely outmatched or reconnaissance operations are required it can fill a fast moving recon role. And when caught in a stand up fight it can switch over to fill a heavier fire support role allowing it to engage targets of any size and fully support it's fellow units.

It all looks good to me.

[/i]

Weaknesses: 
Light Armor The RU-39 possesses light armor by mech standards, meaning that most mech class weapons which manage to hit it will be almost guaranteed to cause damage.

Close Range Focus With the exception of a single weapon the RU-39 does not possess the ability to effectively engage targets past medium range.

Crippling Specialization While the RU-39 is capable of filling several roles thanks to its ability to focus on one aspect of its systems or another. This versatility is also a double edged sword. When focused on filling one role the RU-39 loses much of its ability to fill any other. For instance when power is focused to weapons the RU-39 is incapable of filling a reconnaissance role and becomes a much easier target. Inversely when the RU-39 is focused towards mobility it loses it's ability to engage targets at longer ranges and is almost incapable of damaging heavy or colossal class mechs.

Seeing no problems here.

Overall Description:  The RU-39 is designed to be a reconnaissance mech with the ability to provide fire support during larger operations. It is capable of many things, though not always at the same time. Its greatest strengths come in the form of it's speed and unpredictability. While it's greatest weaknesses come in it's lack of raw power during most situations.

Equipment/Gear:  A fire extinguisher, first aid kit, oxygen mask, and a few spare oxygen tanks.

Okay, after looking over the mech, I think this is certainly a very viable one for the group.  I'll let the others give their thoughts and opinions on it as well.  This one is a major contender with Kiric's character.  It's so hard to choose!  I'll think a little on it, but I may decide that a group of 7 may be in order because of how this character and mech are designed!

[Kiric Rand]

So I plan on fleshing out a few mor details on Alex after work. But the TL:DR version is this.

Former solder, merc who has a ruthless attitude.

His mech was one he hijacked during one of his missions after his military days. Being a former pilot, it took him some time but he was eventually able to gain control.

Dragon's weapon systems tend to have an all a4ound focus. The rifle is his anti armor weapon, probally capibale of doing decent damage up to medium mech armor, anything heavier takes a bit more.

His minigun is more anti personnel, but can do some damage to mechs.

The missiles are better for anti air, seeing as when used against ground targets they do not reach the required altitude to launch the mini warheads.

The lasers are more for small targets that get inside the rifle and minigun target area. Rarely used.

In short, an assualt mech that would pair well as a defensive mech for some of the slower, weapon platforms

[King Serperior]

Sort end of the story, he had an assassination mission on the moon, and once completed he was returning back to earth. And yes, he was dishonorably discharged. His mech was returned, the one he now pilots he stole during a mission and decided to keep it in place of payment for that particular mission. And yes, it is mostly anti personnel and light armor, with the missiles and rifle being the only thing that can even have a chance of hurting bigger mechs, even then it would take most of his ammo to do.

I missed this earlier, so I'll go ahead and fix that now:

An assassination on the moon?  Sounds like it's a very difficult task considering that, due to it being the moon.  Then again, the moon is basically a very large resort city at most, so he could probably get away with it, though I highly doubt that a murder will be kept quiet for long.  That could explain why he is returning to Earth, perhaps on the very first transport back.

So I plan on fleshing out a few mor details on Alex after work. But the TL:DR version is this.

Former solder, merc who has a ruthless attitude.

His mech was one he hijacked during one of his missions after his military days. Being a former pilot, it took him some time but he was eventually able to gain control.

Dragon's weapon systems tend to have an all a4ound focus. The rifle is his anti armor weapon, probally capibale of doing decent damage up to medium mech armor, anything heavier takes a bit more.

His minigun is more anti personnel, but can do some damage to mechs.

The missiles are better for anti air, seeing as when used against ground targets they do not reach the required altitude to launch the mini warheads.

The lasers are more for small targets that get inside the rifle and minigun target area. Rarely used.

In short, an assualt mech that would pair well as a defensive mech for some of the slower, weapon platforms

Alright, no problems at all!  Can't wait to see what the final version will be like.  Being a slower, mid-range defense for larger, heavier mechs sounds great as well.  I really like it.

[Urbanzorro]

While I see no issues, I have to say that that is an interesting callsign. 

It was given to him during mech pilot school. At least in my experience you never really pick your callsign, your friends do. He has a tendency to be a bit of a joker and to get over excited about things having to do with mech combat so 'Chuckles' stuck.

Scars are considered distinguishing marks.  That said, the scars over his kidneys:  Did he have one removed and replaced by a donated one?  Or did he donate one?  Just curious.

They are leftovers from having his adrenal glands surgically altered during his training. Basically it helps to account for how quickly he can get pumped up and excited about a fight.

This all looks good to me.  Hmmm, I wonder how he would react when he finds that a Pro Mech Fighter (Angela) is part of the group since he wanted to join the arena?

I imagine he'll react with quite a bit of interest and excitement, despite the fact that he now has his own mech to pilot he is still a fan of the Pro Mech Fighters and would possibly like to be one some day.

Loving the mech design so far!  Though, I have to say that 'Jack' is a surprising one for this mech.  I'd have figured it'd be something like 'Mantis' or 'Grasshopper' since it kind of looks like it.  Of course, it's your mech, so name it whatever you like! 

Well my thought process was that 'Jack' will normally be going up against opponents that are larger than it is. With that in mind, what else would you name a giant slayer?

The only thing of note I would like to know about is the location of it's fuel tank(s).  A flamethrower weapon either needs a small tank attached to the weapon itself or a larger one attached to the mech which is connected to the weapon.  Flamethrowers are powerful, but have dangerous drawbacks when under fire (I.E. KABOOM!).  Overall, I like it!

I'm thinking that the flamethrower would carry it's fuel source on itself. Ideally just imagine a fuel tank attached to the back of the gun.

*gasp*  Now that is a useful defense!  I really, really love this!  The question is, how many of these drones does the mech carry?  Do they have a maximum distance they can travel?  Is it possible to recover them if they aren't destroyed?  How easy are they to replace?

I'm thinking a standard load for the system would be like 15 drones. As far as a maximum distance goes I didn't really give it much thought but I'd say they could at least fly for a good distance before hitting the point where it either needs to be called back or it no longer has the fuel to return. I'm thinking they can be recovered by simply being given a recall order from the mech and then turning back to return to the mech. As far as replacing them goes I'm thinking that it wouldn't be particularly easy with more drones either being an exceedingly rare find or not likely to be found at all outside of a situation where the mechs were being fully restocked anyway.

Okay, after looking over the mech, I think this is certainly a very viable one for the group.  I'll let the others give their thoughts and opinions on it as well.  This one is a major contender with Kiric's character.  It's so hard to choose!  I'll think a little on it, but I may decide that a group of 7 may be in order because of how this character and mech are designed!

I'm glad you like it. Looking forward to possibly taking part in the game!

[eBadger]

-Is this still open?

-How much of a plotline/story is there going to be, or is this more of a sandbox?

[Karma]

Athena will be able to fabricate things that might otherwise be extremely difficult to replace as well.

[King Serperior]

It was given to him during mech pilot school. At least in my experience you never really pick your callsign, your friends do. He has a tendency to be a bit of a joker and to get over excited about things having to do with mech combat so 'Chuckles' stuck.

Alright, that makes sense.  Angela has taken the nickname as the 'Angel of Destruction' by announcers in the arena for the fact that she just leaves mechs as little more than slag on the battlefield. 

They are leftovers from having his adrenal glands surgically altered during his training. Basically it helps to account for how quickly he can get pumped up and excited about a fight.

Okay, that would be a good thing to note in the character sheet (unless I missed it somewhere?).

I imagine he'll react with quite a bit of interest and excitement, despite the fact that he now has his own mech to pilot he is still a fan of the Pro Mech Fighters and would possibly like to be one some day.

Well, that would give them something to talk about!   

Well my thought process was that 'Jack' will normally be going up against opponents that are larger than it is. With that in mind, what else would you name a giant slayer?

Ooooooh!  NOW I get the nickname!  Haha, that's actually pretty darn good!  I like it.

I'm thinking that the flamethrower would carry it's fuel source on itself. Ideally just imagine a fuel tank attached to the back of the gun.

Okay, that certainly works.  Though, that makes me wonder how large the fuel tank is as well as the question on if there is a spare tank somewhere on the mech for 'reloading' when the tank goes dry?

I'm thinking a standard load for the system would be like 15 drones. As far as a maximum distance goes I didn't really give it much thought but I'd say they could at least fly for a good distance before hitting the point where it either needs to be called back or it no longer has the fuel to return. I'm thinking they can be recovered by simply being given a recall order from the mech and then turning back to return to the mech. As far as replacing them goes I'm thinking that it wouldn't be particularly easy with more drones either being an exceedingly rare find or not likely to be found at all outside of a situation where the mechs were being fully restocked anyway.

Okay, that makes perfect sense.  Thanks for the explanation.  You may want to note that fact in the CS.

I'm glad you like it. Looking forward to possibly taking part in the game!

Well, once we see what all the options are and everyone gets their characters sorted out, we'll see if we can squeeze one more character in since, from what I can see, both yours and Kiric's characters and mechs are so unique and creative.  I really have a hard time figuring out how one can be chosen above the other. 

-Is this still open?

-How much of a plotline/story is there going to be, or is this more of a sandbox?

Hello, eBadger! 

With one spot open and two really good mechs and characters going for that position and leaving me wondering how I can choose one or the other, it is technically open.  However, it is extremely close to closing, but if you want to try your hand at creating something, you can. 

As for it being storyline vs sandbox, it will be sandbox, but with an actual plot driving it forward.

Athena will be able to fabricate things that might otherwise be extremely difficult to replace as well.

^This is true, so those drones can be repaired or replaced if the character and mech is chosen.

[Urbanzorro]

I'll add in some further details on the drones as well as the fact that his adrenal glands have been altered. Though I don't tend to play that bit up too much. Its more that his concept is in part inspired by a character I had for a different game who had similar things done to him and it helps me to have a mental picture of how I want Leo to behave. As far as the flamethrower having a spare tank I could see one being stored somewhere inside the mech. Though when I envisioned the flame thrower I thought of it, and the shotgun, as being a bit replaceable. For instance if the flamethrower runs out of ammo the mech, thanks to it's hands, could just 'borrow' a  hand weapon from a defeated mech.

Also, that's a good tie in for Athena and Leo, could offer up some options for interaction between the two of them.

[Karma]

Mind you, Athena won't be kind about having to work on other people's mechs.

[Urbanzorro]

Well tension is always fun to play as well.

[eBadger]

Hello, eBadger! 

With one spot open and two really good mechs and characters going for that position and leaving me wondering how I can choose one or the other, it is technically open.  However, it is extremely close to closing, but if you want to try your hand at creating something, you can. 

As for it being storyline vs sandbox, it will be sandbox, but with an actual plot driving it forward.
^This is true, so those drones can be repaired or replaced if the character and mech is chosen.

Cool beans, thanks for the reply and have an awesome game!

[King Serperior]

I'll add in some further details on the drones as well as the fact that his adrenal glands have been altered. Though I don't tend to play that bit up too much. Its more that his concept is in part inspired by a character I had for a different game who had similar things done to him and it helps me to have a mental picture of how I want Leo to behave.

Alright, well, if the adrenal glands won't come into play often, that's fine.  It's the drones that were the main things needing more information.

As far as the flamethrower having a spare tank I could see one being stored somewhere inside the mech. Though when I envisioned the flame thrower I thought of it, and the shotgun, as being a bit replaceable. For instance if the flamethrower runs out of ammo the mech, thanks to it's hands, could just 'borrow' a  hand weapon from a defeated mech.

Makes sense there.  I'm certain there'll be a number of fallen mechs to scavenge from, so you don't need to add an extra fuel tank if you don't want to.   

Mind you, Athena won't be kind about having to work on other people's mechs.

*Makes a note to not ask her to help do repair work after a hectic battle*

Cool beans, thanks for the reply and have an awesome game!

No problem and thanks!  You have good luck out there with your games as well!

[Kiric Rand]

Name:  Alexander Nobel
Rank:  Former Military
Role:  Mercenary
Nicknames:  Alex
Callsign:  Red Fang
Age:  31
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Height:  7’ 3”
Weight:  235 lb
Eyes:  Green
Hair:  Black, shoulder length
Skin:  White, Slightly tan
Physique:  Big and solid
Distinguishing Marks: Numerious tattoos along his chest, arms, and back

Appearance:  Alex is a big man, imposing in stature.

Bio:  Alex is a former solder, very effective at what he did, engaging in combat missions at the age of 18. He quickly rose through the ranks, due to his brutal efficiency at completing his missions. So he was given command of a heavy class mech, leading a small unit in sweep and clear style missions. While he never failed a single one, it was due to his ruthlessness and his high civilian casualty rate that he was soon discharged from the unit.

Knowing only the field of combat, Alex soon found himself accepting freelance work for many different governments. He managed to hijack an experimental heavy mech, known as a fiddler mech during one of his missions. He claimed it as part of his payment, and with it, he has been able to take bigger and bigger missions.

He is still as ruthless as ever, but he is also loyal to completing the mission. Despite being a merc, he is not one to change sides mid mission. Just hope and pray he is on your side. Alex was currently on his way from the lunar colonies after completion of a mission, an assassination that he has managed to keep under wraps for now. He was taking the first transport back before things blew up



Equipment/Gear (Grabbed before entering the Mech's Storage Container):  A couple sets of clothes, some provisions, and his side arm from his military days.

Chassis:  Heavy assault unit TR-X “Fiddler”
Model:  Custom
Weight Class:  Heavy
Weight:  78T Dry/ 96 T Full load out
Height: 15m
Top Speed:  50 KPH
Mech Name:  Dragon
Armaments (Standard Layout):  XR31 Solid slug rifle (Fixed): One of two main armaments, the XR31 is a long range rifle with a maximum range of 15km, though effective range is within 10 km. It is armed with solid slug armor penetrating rounds, mostly used as an anti armor and anti mech weapon. At the time of landing it was loaded with its maximum ammo count of 350 rounds. The XR31 is effective against anything up to medium mech armor.

GSD “Vulcan” Gatling gun (Fixed): Second main armament, The GSD “Vulcan” fires at an impressive 10,000 rounds per minute it allowed continual firing. It carries a maximum ammo load out of 100,000 rounds. Mostly used as an anti personal and anti light armor. Currently armed with depleted uranium rounds. Mostly effective against troops and light armor.

LRM 21 “Lancer” Missiles (Fixed): Anti-Aircraft weaponry, currently armed with 8 missiles, each of with will break off into smaller warheads upon reaching a certain altitude. While useful against ground based targets, Lancers truly shine against airborne targets, allowing a single shot to take out multiple craft. Usage against ground targets will not allow the missile to reach the minimum altitude necessary to deploy the mini warheads.

2x LLM 351 Light Laser machine guns (Fixed): An anti personal weapon with a fairly short range, The LLM 351 draws power from the main reactor, allowing for a near indefinite ammo count, though it’s short range make it ineffective against anything at near point blank range. Can overheat if used for extended periods of time.

Subsystems (Standard and Nonstandard):  ”Fiddler” Arms: Probably the most noticeable feature of the mech are the small arms just below the cockpit, giving the mech a slight appearance of a fiddler crab. While they are not strong enough to wield a weapon system, they are useful in allowing Alex to perform more intricate task.

Radar, Infrared, and sonar visual systems: As a combat mech, it has a number of detection systems available to scan and locate threats

Comms array: Standard systems to allow for communication.

Smoke Launchers: Mounted around the mech in various places, These small canisters allow the mech to deploy a smoke cloud that will confuse most detection systems, providing a measure of stealth.

Targeting systems: The Dragon comes with an advanced targeting system, allowing the pilot to pick out targets as a rapid pace and direct it’s weaponry to bare.

Strengths:  Combat: Dragon excels at combat, having a weapon system ready for nearly any situation

Anti-Personnel: A majority of Dragon’s weapon systems are directed at taking out troops and light armor.

Sealed Cockpit: The dragons control center is completely sealed, allowing it’s piolet to survive in nearly any environment.

Armored: The Dragon has a decent amount of armor, allowing it to operate in combat situations for prolonged amounts of time.

Arms: While the arms are not able of using weapons, they do allow the Dragon to perform a number of delicate actions that a mech his size normally wouldn’t allow.

Weaknesses:  Large: Dragon is a large mech, even for a heavy class mech. It does make in a target in a lot of situations.

Anti-Personnel- Except for the missiles and rifle, Dragon has limited ways to deal with heavier mechs.

Experimental Design: Due to the nature of the design, not many mechs like Dragon exist, which means parts are harder for find for some of the systems.

Fixed weaponry: The weaponry on Dragon is fixed, which means there is no way to change it. Most of it requires solid ammo, which means it has a limited capacity.


Overall Description:  The Dragon is a bipedal mech, though a bit of an odd design. It was built as an heavy assault unit, capable of backing off to support heavier weapon platforms. Where its arms would normally be there are weapon systems, and a smaller pair of arms sits just in front of the power plant entrance. The cockpit is situated just above the laser guns. The battery systems are located in the crotch, just behind the arms. The pilot enters via a cable and foot loop that pulls them from the ground.

Equipment/Gear:  1 Sniper Rifle, 1 assault rifle, spare pilot suit and helmet.


ok, I suck at creating the characters on sheet

[Ralhend]

This is really making me want to play mechwarrior online...

[Saria]

Okay, you may have noticed I changed the topic to say we're full. Those of you still working on profiles, don't panic! You're still in the running.

Right now, the following are locked in:

• King Serperior
• Karma
• Ralhend
• Saria

And the following are working on profiles (so don't stop!):

• Gurass
• akirakaneda
• Kiric Rand
• Urbanzorro
• Giantmutantcrab

I know we said there's only six spots, but we're willing to extend it, so don't worry about being one of 5 people fighting for 2 spots. Just make an awesome profile!

[Kiric Rand]

I think, unless you guys have anything you want me to add or clarify, that is my final profile. I am not good at making character sheets

[King Serperior]

I think, unless you guys have anything you want me to add or clarify, that is my final profile. I am not good at making character sheets

From what I see, I honestly don't have a problem at all.  I really like what I see and I think Saria, Karma, and Ralhend do too, but I won't quote them on that.

[Urbanzorro]

Updated my sheet with some more info on the drones and to include Leo's gland surgery. I think he's about done unless you see something else that needs to be changed.

[King Serperior]

Updated my sheet with some more info on the drones and to include Leo's gland surgery. I think he's about done unless you see something else that needs to be changed.

Thanks for the additions!  That's about all I can think of in regards to my own comments, so unless Saria, Karma, or Ralhend have anything to say, I think it's perfect.

[Saria]

Yeah, I'm cool with both Kiric Rand's profile and Urbanzorro's. Once Karma and Ralhend give the thumbs up, I'll add them both to the main list.

[Karma]

Looks good to me.

[Giantmutantcrab]

*cough* Hi everyone!  *wavewave*

I saw this setting and I find it very interesting.  I love mech video games and I would like to join this group.  However...  I'll admit to being intimidated at the task of building a mech.  The specifications you all put into your mechs is STAGGERING.  Considering English isn't really my native tongue, I might be running around trying to find coherent words to describe complex technical terms.  So to all you gearheds out there...  Help!  ^^;

Also...  Would it acceptable if my character were to have a battle armor?  I think that's what they're called?  The smallest ones available, something akin to the hulkbuster armor in size?  I had thought of a soldier with training comparable to the First Special Service Force of World War II.  His specialty would be stealth, infiltration and so on.  Naturally his mech would never be nearly as powerful as larger models but maybe he would have advantages of being fast, agile and silent?  Maybe some kind of light-refraction device to make it really hard to catch him on radar or even just looking at him on an open field?  I thought of a visual effect comparable to the predator's cloaking field...

...or is that just too much?  Please let me know, as I don't want to give the impression of being munchkin.  :)

And I didn't imagine this character as actually being a decorated war hero or some kind of super-important officer.  I saw him as being more of a scout and a survivalist, akin to John Rambo of First Blood (in the sense of him actually having to walk INTO the enemy base and grabbing some enormous machine of destruction rather than starting out with it), and not as John Rambo of Rambo III, where he single-handedly destroyed the Red Army in Afghanistan.  He would be an ambush fighter, guerilla tactics, survival, trying to capture enemy gear, etc.  He would not have much in the way of a full-on assault, since he's wearing the mech equivalent of a kevlar vest and a nice helmet.