Mechwarrior Brikwars Rules


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Mechwarrior Brikwars Rules

Postby Ben-Jammin » Mon May 23, 2011 5:21 pm

I know you all were interested in my custom rules for Mechwarrior Brikwars, so here they are.

They are only about 8 pages in Microsoft Word, so I just decided to post them here. Tell me what you guys think, as well as any suggestions. BTW I made it so that you can use either my custom structure points system or the standard Brikwars format. Also, sorry about the confusing weapons table, I tried to get them into a chart or list but I couldn't.

Mechwarrior Brikwars

1. General Mech Rules
In Mechwarrior Brikwars, Mechs and vehicles function much like minifigs normally would. However, there are still several qualities that make these units different. A sample mech is shown below:

Rifleman CP: 40
Skill: 2d6+1 (Veteran Pilot +2 CP)
Move: 8”
Armor: 3d6
Structure Points: 30
Weight: 60 tons (Heavy)
- Enhanced Optics (+1 CP, 1 ton)
- 3 Heat Sinks (1 ton each, +1 CP each)
2 Medium Lasers: RNG: 10” UR: 3 Damage: 1d6+2 SD: 2 Heat: 1 Weight: 2 CP: 3 each
2 Large Lasers: RNG: 12” UR: 3 Damage: 1d10 SD: 4 Heat: 3 Weight: 5 CP: 5 each
2 AC/5: RNG: 10” UR: 3 Damage: 1d6+2 SD: 3 Heat: - Weight: 6 Ammo: 20 each CP: 4 each
1: 2 Medium Lasers
2: 2 Large Lasers
3: 2 AC/5

Mech Abilities:
Skill: Used to determine how a mech does certain things. Skill is also used to determine if a mech succeeds on an attack roll. A mech isn’t a robot, it needs a Pilot to operate it. Pilots cost CP, depending on their skill:
- Novice: 1d6 skill (+1 CP)
- Veteran: 2d6 skill (+2 CP)
- Elite: 3d6 skill (+3 CP)
Move: The mech’s speed in inches. A mech’s weight class generally determines speed, as shown later on like Bonn-o-Tron.
Armor: Used to determine if an attack hits a mech. If the result of the attack roll is higher than the result of the defense roll, the attack hits.
Structure Points: These determine how much damage a mech can take before being destroyed. Structure points are determined by weight class. If a mech’s structure points reach 0, the mech is destroyed.
Weight: A mech’s Weight shows its weight class and determines several base stats, shown below:
- Light: 20-35 tons, 12” move, 1d6 armor, base CP 6, 10 Structure Points
- Medium: 40-55 tons, 10” move, 2d6 armor, base CP 8, 20 Structure Points
- Heavy: 60-75 tons, 8” move, 3d6 armor, base CP 10, 30 Structure Points
- Assault: 80-100 tons, 5” move, 4d6 armor, base CP 12, 40 Structure Points
Weight also determines how much gear and weapons a mech can carry. A mech can carry total weapons and equipment up to half of its tonnage, rounded up. For example, a 35 ton light mech can carry up to 18 tons of gear.
Equipment: Shows the gear available to a mech. A list of gear is seen below:
- Enhanced Optics (1 ton, +1 CP)- gives a +1 bonus to ranged attacks
- Beagle Active Probe (1 ton, +1 CP)- Allows a mech to detect Stealth units or shutdown mechs
- Jump Jets (Variable Weight, +2 CP)- Allows a mech to Fly up to half it’s speed, rounded up. Jump Jets have different weight for different mech classes:
1. Light: 3 tons
2. Medium: 4 tons
3. Heavy: 5 tons
4. Assault: 6 tons
- Advanced Gyro (2 tons, +1 CP)- Gives a mech a -1 bonus on the Serious Damage table and +1 on saves to be knocked over.
- ECM (2 tons, +2 CP)- Gives a mech Stealth ability.
- LAMS (2 tons, +1 CP)- gives a mech a +2 armor bonus against missile weapons, but generates 1 heat when used
- Heat Sinks (1 ton, +1 CP)- subtracts 1 point of heat from each weapon group when fired.
Weapons: All of the mech’s available weapons.
Groups: When a mech makes an attack, it attacks with all of the weapons in its group. All of the damage, UR, and heat of those weapons are totaled up in order to be used. A Mech can only attack with one weapon group every turn. If weapons in a group have a shorter range than the others in the same group, you can still attack with that group, but only the weapons in range will hit.

2. Mech Weapons
Small laser; 6”, 2, 1d6, 1, -, 1 ton, -, 1
Medium Laser; 10”, 3, 1d6+2, 2, +1, 2 tons, -, 3
Large Laser; 12”, 3, 1d10, 4, +3 , 5 tons, -, 5
PPC; 14”, 4, 2d6+3 (slow), 7, +5, 7 tons, -, 8
Flamethrower; 6”, 3, 1d6 fire (+3 heat to target), -, +1, 2 tons, -, 3
Short-Range Missile; 6”, 3, 1d6+2, 2, -, 3 tons, 10 shots, 4
Medium-Range Missile; 12”, 4, 1d10, 4, +1, 6 tons, 10 shots, 6
Long-Range Missile; 18”, 5, 1d10+3, 6, +2, 8 tons, 8 shots, 8
Arrow IV; 24”, 6, 2d10+3 (slow), 8, +3, 12 tons, 6 shots, 12
Machine Guns; 6”, 2, 1d6, 1, -, 2 tons, -, 1
Autocannon; 10” , 3, 1d6+2, 3, -, 6 tons, 20 shots, 3
Heavy Autocannon; 8”, 4, 1d10+3, 5, +1, 10 tons, 16 shots, 6
Gauss Rifle; 12”, 5, 2d10 (slow), 9, +1, 13 tons, 12 shots, 10,
LBX Autocannon; 6”, 4, 2d6 (-1 for every inch away from target), 6, -, 12 tons, 12 shots, 9
Sword; CC, 3, 1d10, 6, -, 5 tons, -, 5
Hatchet; CC, 3, 1d10, 5, -, 4 tons, -, 5
Fist; CC, 3, 1d6, 2, -, -, -, 3

Energy Weapons:
- Small Lasers: The smallest and cheapest weapons available for mechs. They deal little damage, but can be effective in groups or in support of heavier weapons
- Medium lasers: One of the most common weapons. Medium lasers pack a decent punch and can be quite effective against lighter mechs and vehicles.
- Large Lasers: These weapons can deliver great damage at longer range, but at the cost of great heat.
- PPC: The Particle Projection Cannon is the largest of the energy weapons. They deal massive damage, but deliver extreme heat.
- Flamethrower: These weapons are great against vehicles and infantry, but against mechs, they can deliver excessive heat to a target.

Missile Weapons:
- Short-Range Missile: Though they lack significant range, these weapons can give a mech considerable short-range firepower.
- Medium-Range Missile: A good blend of range and firepower, their only downside is low ammo.
- Long-Range Missile: Excellent for taking down opponents at long range, they pack great firepower, but have very low ammo.
- Arrow IV: This is essentially a mech-mounted cruise missile. A very powerful weapon, it has moderate heat buildup and very low ammo.

Ballistic Weapons:
- Machine Guns: an array of machine guns that can be useful against light mechs or vehicles
- Autocannon: A very common mech weapon that has good firepower and range.
- Heavy Autocannon: Short-ranged, but quite powerful.
- Gauss Rifle: Large and deadly, Gauss rifles are well-known as simple mech-killers. Their firepower is immense, but their heavy weight and low ammo can be troublesome.
- LBX Autocannon: Essentially mech shotguns, LBX Autocannons have short range and low ammo, but make up for this with sheer close-range firepower.

Weapon Attachments
Mechs can also mount a variety of attachments that allow them to become even deadlier
Name, Weight, CP, Weapon Type, Description, Notes
Pulse Laser, 1 ton, +1, Energy, Enables full-auto fire for lasers, Not available for PPCs
ER Laser, 1 ton, +1, Energy, Extends range by 2”, Adds 1 additional heat with each use
Enlarged Capacitor, 2 tons, +1, Energy, +2 to damage, Adds 2 additional heat with each use
Artemis FCS, 1 ton, +1, Missile, +2 to skill rolls with missile weapons, -
Armor Piercing, 2 tons, +1, Ballistic, -2 to target’s armor rolls, Ammo capacity for weapon decreased by 2 shots
Ultra Autocannons, 2 tons, +1, Ballistic, Enables full auto fire for Autocannons ONLY, -
Increased Ammo, 2 tons, +2, Missile or Ballistic, Doubles ammo capacity for selected weapons, -

3. Heat and Serious Damage
Mech’s carry some of the most powerful weapons known, and they can create some serious heat. As a mech uses weapons or equipment, they will accumulate heat, which will cause problems for them. The heat chart is shown below:
+1 -
+2 -
+3 -
+4 -
+5 -
+6 -1” move
+7 -
+8 -
+9 -
+10 -1 to attack rolls
+11 -
+12 -
+13 -Shutdown, avoid on 2+ save
+14 -
+15 -
+16 -
+17 -
+18 -1 to attack rolls
+19 -1” move
+20 -
+21 -
+22 -Shutdown, avoid on a 4+ save
+23 -
+24 -
+25 -
+26 -
+27 -2 to attack rolls
+28 -2”move
+29 -
+30 Shutdown

Losing Heat
There are numerous ways to lose heat:
- A mech can spend an Action to vent heat. Every time a mech vents, it loses a certain amount of heat equal to its number of heat sinks.
- A mech loses 1 point of heat every time it spends a turn without firing weapons
- Standing in a water source for 1 turn loses 2 points of heat
- Certain environmental factors (such as snow or rain) can cause a mech to lose heat. Alternatively, some factors can cause mechs to gain heat.
Serious Damage:
Sometimes, when mechs take too much damage, the results can be catastrophic. Every time an attack beats a defense roll by 5 or more points, roll 1d10 and refer to the chart below for the result of serious damage:
The target gains 2 extra points of heat.
The target receives a -1” move penalty
The target receives a -2 attack penalty for one turn, and cannot use Enhanced Optics or Artemis FCS
The target must make a save of 3+ on a d6 or be knocked prone
The target cannon vent heat or subtract heat points from heat sinks for 3 turns
The target receives a -2 move penalty and cannot use any equipment for 3 turns
The target rolls 1d6, the result of which determines the limb that is destroyed:
1. Right Arm
2. Left Arm
3. Right Leg
4. Left Leg
5. Right Torso
6. Left Torso
The target looses half ammo for their weapons and takes 2d10 exp damage (5 SD)
The target must make a save of 4+ on a d6 or be shutdown instantly
The target must make a 6+ save on a d10 or be instantly destroyed, causing a 3d10 explosion (5 SD)

4. Additional Rules
- Combined Fire: Mechs can also pool their firepower into a single massive attack against a single target. If all mechs in a squad pass their attack rolls, they can combine the damage into a single massive blast. A player must say which units are combining fire against a target before the attack rolls are made.
- Component Damage: A mech can also choose to target certain areas of an enemy mech in order to destroy them. The attack suffers a -2 attack penalty, but if the attack hits, it deals damage to a specific area of the target, such as a leg or an arm. The Defense and Structure points of a certain body area are equal to the target’s normal defense and structure points divided by two, rounded up. If the attack destroys that body part, any weapons contained there are destroyed as well. The list of areas applicable for component damage are:
1. Right Arm
2. Left Arm
3. Right Leg
4. Left Leg
5. Right Torso
6. Left Torso
7. Center Torso (If destroyed, Mech is also destroyed)
8. Head (If destroyed, Mech is also destroyed.)
- Charging: Mechs can also charge or ram into other mechs in attempts to destroy them. Refer to the Brikwars Rules for charging and collision effects.
- Additional damage options: If you don’t want to use the structure point damage system, or think that mechs have too many structure points, there is another option. Take a Lego plate (usually 1x12 will work, most mechs won’t be over that height), and measure the mech’s height in studs. However tall the mech is in studs, that is its total structure point level (For example, a 6-stud tall mech has six structure points). If you’re using this method, then ignore the structure point damage stat for weapons, and instead subtract 1 point for every time the unit is hit.

5. Vehicles and Infantry
Although Mechs are often described as the kings of the battlefield, a good column of tanks or squad of infantry can be effective in turning the tide of a nasty battle.

Tanks and Vehicles
Most vehicles use the same stats as mechs, as they have the same weight classes. There are still some rules for vehicles that are different however:
- Vehicles do not gain heat, as they have fewer weapons and usually have better venting systems.
- Vehicles cannot use mech equipment.
- Vehicles must be either tracked, wheeled, hovercraft, or aircraft; any vehicles with legs are considered mechs.
- Vehicles can transport infantry units. For +3 CP, a vehicle can carry up to 5 infantry units.

The standard infantryman can be quite useful even in a battlefield dominated by mechs and tanks. Infantry are best used in squads, where the sheer number of their men can be brought to bear on an enemy.
A single infantryman is armed with a machine gun or small laser, although they can also be armed with a short-range missile launcher. Any other weapons are too large for infantry to carry.
Additionally, Infantry can be used to board tanks or hack mechs. To successfully board a unit, the infantryman must spend a full turn adjacent to a target and must make a roll of 6+ on a d10. If he succeeds, the successfully hacks or boards the unit and gains control over it, while throwing the pilot out of the vehicle. If he fails, the mech or vehicle he tried to board either steps on him or runs him over, spilling his innards all over the vehicle he tried so hard to capture.
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Postby Arkbrik » Tue May 24, 2011 1:54 am

Hmm, there seems to be a lot of heat, ammo and damage to keep track of for each mech.
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Postby Ben-Jammin » Tue May 24, 2011 5:02 am

Yeah, I was thinking that that could all be recorded on a separate sheet of paper or written somewhere on the stat card. Thats what I used to do when I played D&D and Star Wars RPG. It can actually work quite well.
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Postby Theblackdog » Wed May 25, 2011 5:08 pm

Nice, but a bit complex. I would have the mechs vent heat automatically at the end of each turn, and only "store" heat if it generates more heat in a single turn than its heat sinks can vent.

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Postby GeneralOfDeath » Wed May 25, 2011 5:25 pm

I seem to recall very simililar rules in the Other Games category on the main page...
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Postby Ben-Jammin » Thu May 26, 2011 4:59 am

Sorry about the complexity of the rules. And I did get some ideas from other games, specifically mechaton and brickmech, but these rules are pretty much my own design.
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