MECHAPON CONSTRUCTION

Mechapon are made out of four or five units. All Mechapon have:
-One Body unit, consisting of a torso and head, which also contains the Mechapon's power cell, AI chip, and may have an additional utility part.
-Two Arm units (Left and Right, although most Gunner-type units can be used for either).
-One Lower Body unit (Leg, Tread, Wheel, or Tail).

In addition, some Mechapon use a Backpack unit, although this is strictly optional.

The rules for constructing a Mechapon are simple: as long as it can run, and the parts are unmodified, you can use it... and a Mechapon will run as long as the total Energy Consumption of all its parts is less than 50 Energy.

Before discussing parts any further, it would be a good idea to deal with how the game is played.

On each player's turn, each one of his Mechapon may take up to three actions:
-Move
-Attack
-Defend (which ends the Mechapon's turn)
-Boost (if the Mechapon has a boostable part)

Move - the Mechapon may move up to the number of squares listed on its Leg unit. Yes, wheel/tread/whatever parts count for this, we'll just call them all Leg units for the rest of the thread unless the difference matters. If the field has vertical levels, moving vertically up or down a level counts as a square of movement.

-Attack: Make one attack. Roll 2d6 and add the Mechapon's relevant Attack bonus. The opponent then must beat that roll with a 2d6+Defense roll. If the Defense fails, the attacker rolls the damage indicated by the attack and subtracts the combined Armor rating of the opponent. If the attack has a cooldown, the player must then take that number of Cooldown tokens and place it on that ability. At the beginning of each turn, one Cooldown token is removed, and the attack may be used again once all are gone.

-Defend: Adds 1d6 to the Mechapon's Defense rating until the beginning of its next turn, unless another ability would modify this.

-Boost: Boosts the effectiveness of an attack at the cost of Energy. This may only be done if one of the Mechapon's units has a Boost quality, and only if there is Energy not consumed by the Mechapon's Power Consumption. Using Energy in this manner removes it for the rest of the round, until the Mechapon is recharged.

Why don't we use warmachine rules for gameplay?

Oh man, the rules you've given out already sound good enough for me, im'a dig out my lego and make up some sheets

Sounds very similar to the old Front Mission games, not that this is a bad thing, of course.

>>7640556
I was just thinking the same thing. Those games were pretty awesome.

I am so in to this. Make a wiki, set some standards and lets make it happen. Also- where did you find those pics? I creamed myself a little.

QUANDRY: I now have the overwhelming desire to either play front mission 3, or make mechs from lego

WHAT IS A MAN TO DO

>>7640627

Play a mission, build a bit, play another mission.

ENJOY NIGHT!

There are also a few actions that require specific parts to use.

-Grapple: Requires an Attack action. If successful, no damage is dealt, but the opposing Mechapon must cannot move away until it breaks the Grapple with a successful Grapple action of its own. Some parts add damage to Grapple attacks, but even without these, any Mechapon with two Arm units that have a hand can use this action. Any Mechapon that have only one hand can also use this action, but at a -5 penalty.
Grapple uses the Attack: Melee bonus.

-Throw: After successfully Grappling an enemy, a Mechapon may throw that enemy up to 1d6 squares away. Before rolling for distance, the player must choose a target square. If the distance rolled is greater than or equal to the distance to that square, the Throw hits it. If it falls short, the enemy is thrown a number of squares equal to the roll towards the target square.
Throwing a Mechapon deals 1 point of damage normally, which cannot be reduced by armor. If the enemy is thrown into an arena hazard, it deals damage as normal for the hazard.

-Hover/Fly: A modified movement, Mechapon that can Hover do not need to have ground under them when moving. Units that allow Hover or Fly have a maximum height listed; note that arenas with a ceiling may limit this further.

-Drop Attack: AKA "Death From Above". A Mechapon hovering over an opponent may drop to the ground immediately, smashing into his opponent below. The attack roll is made as normal, with a +3 modifier for every 2 squares that the Mechapon is above the opponent. If the attack hits, the damage is either determined by one of the Mechapon's melee attacks, or is 1d6, plus 1d6 for every 2 squares above the opponent that the Mechapon was. In either case, the opponent is forced one square in a random direction, and the attacking Mechapon takes 3 points of damage for every 2 squares in the air that it was.

>>7640599
Here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=220420

More coming in a few, including some parts. Like I said, I want this thing to be playable, and you can't play without units!

post the rest of the rules goddam

>Medabots thread

FUCK YEA

Okay, here's where things are gonna get dicey. The core rules sound alright to me so far, but I'm not sure how good the stats for parts are going to be. Again, feedback = awesome.

BODY UNITS

-Mr. Happy-
One of the iconic Mechapon, Mr. Happy units are described as "Pac-Man on Giger", or "The Yellow Piranha Smiley Face `Bot". They are well-rounded, and their bite ability is considered to be very useful.
ARMOR: 3
POWER CONSUMPTION: 10 Energy
RANGED ATTACK: +3
MELEE ATTACK: +3
DODGE: +5
Attack: HAPPY BITE
Melee (Grapple)
On a successful Grapple, Happy Bite deals 1d6 points of damage.
Boost (3): HAPPY BITE instead deals 3d6 points of damage and gains Cooldown (4).

-Crow-
Crow units are lightly armored, stripped-down models known for their high-quality targeting program. Most are used with Backpack units that allow flight.
ARMOR: 1
POWER CONSUMPTION: 7 Energy
RANGED ATTACK: +5
MELEE ATTACK +2
DODGE: +4
No attacks

Sparkhead
A "happy accident", Sparkhead units weren't supposed to create flamboyant "cold sparks" from their flat noggin, but the effect was so interesting looking that it was kept on. That and the supercharged battery have made the units best-sellers despite second-rate AI.

ARMOR: 3
POWER CONSUMPTION: 0 Energy
RANGED ATTACK: +2
MELEE ATTACK: +3
DODGE: +3
Super Power Cell: Because of the superior power supply, Sparkhead units effectively have no power consumption of their own, retaining a full 50 points to power other units.

>>7640833
You're getting them as I write `em, fuzzy! That's why there's the disclaimers about them being rough around the edges.

How do you determine the energy consumption? Is it, like Brikwars, based on the number of pegs each brick has?

ARM UNITS
-Chop-Chop
An oversized cleaver is magnetically bonded to the right arm. It's unwieldy, taking two hands to swing, but it does a decent amount of damage - especially when it starts to overheat!
POWER CONSUMPTION: 6 (right), 4 (left)
ARMOR: 0 (right), 1 (left)
Left hand
Right hand (dedicated weapon: may drop to grapple, but must spend an action to pick up again)
Attack: Chop-yo-FACE
Melee, 2d6 damage.
Boost (3), Attack ignores half of the target's armor (rounded down) and gains Cooldown (4)
Chop-yo-FACE may be performed while there are Cooldown counters on it; using it in this manner deals 4 damage to the equipped Mechapon and +1d6 to the target.

GAH! I forgot to put Hit Points on the core units!

Let's say 20 for Mr. Happy, 16 for Crow, and 24 for Sparkhead.

More coming.

>>7641053
Each part has Energy Consumption listed under it. Think of it as the basic point cost...

Despite the use of Lego mecha for this thread (and I think they'd be awesome to play it with), I wasn't thinking of this system as Lego-specific. Basically, more effective/damaging/useful parts cost more.

>>7641086
Okay, so there's just a list of parts, Front Mission or Armored Core style, and you can represent them however you choose? It's mainly important, I take it, that the list matches up on paper.

http://ldd.lego.com/

Lego Design and ordering program. Make the model, order it, get shipped parts and build instructions for what you made.

Unfortunately it doesn't have flat 2x1 horizontal twisting bits, like is used in a lot of the mini robots in this thread.

More arm units...

-Krak-1
A static-charge gun, the Krak-1 is only for use on the right arm, thanks to the braces that secure it both to the hardpoint on the Mechapon and to its back.
Right Arm
POWER CONSUMPTION: 15 Energy
ARMOR: 2
Attack: Static Krak
Ranged, 12 squares, 2d6 damage, Cooldown (1)
If the target is within 5 squares and has at least 1 excess Energy, remove 1d6 Energy from it.
If a Mechapon has Krak-1 attached, it cannot attach a Backpack unit.

-MagNom
Another popular arm for those that use Mr. Happy, MagNom combines a bear trap-like jaw with an internal rapid-firing gun. Despite clamping down hard, it is not much use for grappling, however - the servos in the jaw were designed for quick chopping attacks, and are unsuited to long term crushing.
Arm unit (Left or Right)
POWER CONSUMPTION: 9 Energy
ARMOR: 0
Attack: Mag
Ranged, 8 squares, 1d6+1 damage, Rapid (2) (If this attack hits, you may immediately make a second attack and, if successful, add the damage to the first attack. You may do this up to two times. The target's armor is applied to the combined attack, not to each), Cooldown (2)
Attack: Nom
Melee, 1d6+2

>>7641129
Pretty much. As long as all parties involved agree on the part stats, you're good. I don't want to get into rules for building the mechs, because Lego mecha can be of a myriad of sizes, and two builders rarely have creations that are the same size unless they're working from a similar template.

Grargh... alright, I'm going to do a few leg units and let my brain settle for a few minutes.

-Dash/9
The most recent of the long-running Dash series, Dash/9's continue their predecessor's legacy of extreme speed at the cost of... nearly everything else.
Leg unit
POWER CONSUMPTION: 15 Energy
ARMOR: 0
SPEED: 8 squares

-WebFoot
Designed for arenas with water hazards, WebFoot units are fairly balanced - if goofy-looking.
Leg unit
POWER CONSUMPTION: 8 energy
ARMOR: 1
SPEED: 4 squares
Duck Float: Mechapon with WebFoot attached may move over water squares at full speed instead of half, and are not hindered by deep water.

-ChiggenWalker
A balanced, stable choice, the CW series of units has never really advanced past the first - they just haven't had to.
Leg unit
POWER CONSUMPTION: 10 Energy
ARMOR: 3
SPEED: 4 squares

-EnzoF
Bordering on copyright infringement, the EnzoF unit is nonetheless a popular wheeled version of the standard leg parts.
Leg unit (Wheeled)
POWER CONSUMPTION: 9
ARMOR: 0
SPEED: 6 squares
Jump the Bump: If a Mechapon equipped with EnzoF makes two or three move actions consecutively, it may move one square vertically for free per move.

Do you have a formula for the stats of the parts? If you just post the formula along with the rules, players can make their own parts not on the list and keep it reasonably fair.

Now, we've got enough here to actually play a few games... granted, I'd like to get some more parts out, and I will over the rest of the night. If anyone else has any ideas, please go ahead and post `em.

All that's really left is arena hazards - and those should be self-explanatory.

Saws/Hammers/Flamethrowers/Acid - 1d6 to 4d6 for moving into the affected squares. May have a cooldown period after striking.

Water/debris/Sand - Mechapon move at half-speed.

Deep water/Pits - Immediate deactivation.

PPZ - Perimeter Patrol Zone. Yes, ripped off of Robot Wars, but can you blame me? Area around the edge of the arena where stronger-than-normal "house bots" wander, waiting for competitors to enter so that they can come out and SMASH THE LIVING SHITE OUT OF THEM.

>>7641601
I don't have a formula in mind - math is a weak suit of mine. I'm just spitballing right now, under the hopes that people will test `em and see what's underpowered for its point cost and what's overpowered.

>>7641639
It's a good idea to start with a formula, and tweak as needed.

E.G. For legs, power consumption = Armor + Speed + (number of special abilities x2).

So something with armour 4 and speed 2, but a special ability (I 'unno, +1d6 to defence roll when using the defend action) would be power consumption 8.

Make up the formula, then later on you can tweak it as needed.

>>7641710
But Armor should cost more as the number goes up - because it's a flat amount that decreases an opponent's attack, using a flat number for each level of Armor would make it too easy to have a tank that sits there and absorbs absolutely everything thrown at it. An armor of above 6 should be prohibitively expensive, although not impossible.

I appreciate the concept, though, and I agree that a point value formula would be a great idea.

Okay, so here's a rough guide for the points as I see it:

CORE
1/2 point for each point in Dodge and Attack
1 point for Armor up to 3
2 points for each point of Armor up to 6
Yes, this would make Sparkhead terribly overpowered... hm... will have to tweak later.
Arms/Legs
2 points per point of armor, max 3
2 points per hand
1 point per Speed point

I don't have a formula for attacks yet, but the more devastating, the more it should cost (of course). Built-in negatives, IE cooldown, should reduce cost.

>>7641781
You could discourage supertanks by saying that every time the mech is hit, it ALWAYS suffers at least one damage.

Further compounded by the idea that if a mech is hit in the back arc it suffers twice the amount of damage after all other considerations, so it would always suffer at least two damage.

>>7642168
I do like the "never below one" rule - let's work with that for a while. The 2x damage for back arc could get a little excessive, though - especially with boosted attacks doing 3d6... hmm... well, best way to figure out if it's good is to play with it, right?

>>7642168
>>7642210
I like 2x damage for rear arc, but not the (always at least one damage) rule. You should be able to build a supertank, but its weakness is mobility. You can't hurt the fucker unless you get around it.

For the love of the Boobforged, BUMP!

>>7642395
I like both.

Also - to reflect the reduction in mobility, every point of armor above 5 reduces your Speed by 1 square?

Flipper
-A powerful arm unit that uses a potent spring-action to fling enemies away.
Arm unit (Left or Right)
POWER USE: 8 units
ARMOR: 1
Attack: Flipper Fling
Melee (Grapple)
Make an attack roll. If successful, you immediately throw the target up to 1d6+3 squares. You do not need to grapple and then throw as usual, and do not suffer penalties for lack of hands.

So fluffwise, do I play this with scale terrain or just on a table with a few random items because they're tiny pet robots?

>>7642596
Terrain would be appropriate for a League match, while random debris would be appropriate for a casual pickup match.

>>7642420
That works well, I like that. It'd mean to have a decent speed and armour over 5, you'd need to effectively pay two points for it (one for the armour, one for the offset in speed)

does anyone know a website for the construction of the mechas linked in the pictures ?

>>7642830

Is this it?
>>7641175

>>7642854

AHHH crap missed that when I was reading the thread. thanks anon

>>7642830
And for the record, Brickshelf has a lot of other great Lego builders too... but if you don't want to sift, check out Brothers Brick. It's an awesome Lego blog.

bump

This sounds like so much fun!

Can the minis be small figures glued to the bases of those little plastic bubbles you get from these machines?

OH GOD IT'S LIKE /tg/ MEETS CUSTOM ROBO FAPFAPFAP

Is there a template or skeleton for these things anywhere?