Character Creation: Mecha and Monsters: Evolved

There's some irony in a game about big stompy things being powered by the Tiny d6 system, I think.

The Game: Mecha vs. Monsters: Evolved
The Publisher: Gallant Knight Games
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one

Tiny d6 is all over the place; there are a bunch of different games published under the imprint. The only one I've read before this is Knights of Underbed, and I was pretty underwhelmed (arf arf). That game, in addition to using a system that makes me go "eh" on first read, just didn't make a great deal of sense and needed some love in the setting and narrative department. 

This one, though, looks much more consistent and accessible. You can play either mecha (and the Jockeys that drive them) or kaiju. Mind, a setting in which a group of players take the roles of kaiju would require some care - and hey, the book has one! (And it's even set in the ocean, which is a selling point for me.)

I'm gonna make a mech, however (mostly because I tossed a coin to decide). The system is nicely simple; you pick a chassis for your mech which gives you a number of subsystems in particular categories (monsters work more or less the same with different terminology). 

So, we start off with the Jockey. The Jockey doesn't get much attention mechanically (the emphasis is on the mechs and the monsters, hence the title). I get Health 6, I get a Pilot Trait, and I get a Drive, and that's basically it. 

Looking through the other mecha-pilot characters I've made, I don't think I've made a scientist-type. I think it'd be interesting if Burn Gorman's character in Pacific Rim were a mech pilot, so I'm gonna lean that way. 

Shelton Lindgren never meant to be a soldier or a mech pilot; he was a scientist specializing in lasers and energy application (which, of course, meant he got tapped to make weapons to use against the kaiju). One night some of the flyboys got him drunk and let him futz around in the simulator, and he actually put up some good numbers. Pilots are scare, and Shelton got recruited to pilot a mech. He wears big thick glasses (his eyes are too sensitive for contacts), so his buddies call him "the Professor."

WHAT?! NO ONE CALLS ME THAT!

Anyway, I'll take Born to Jockey for my Pilot Trait, reflecting Shelton's natural talent. For his Drive, I'll say "I want to be back in the lab." This is exciting an all, but it's not making lasers any faster (or whatever it is scientists do). 

Now for the mech! First we select a chassis. Let's do Scout-class, the kind of all-purpose mechs. I get my basic systems (Basic Weapons, Heavy Lifting, Colossal Size), a system from the chassis (Adaptable Build; I get one extra system that I suppose I can take from any list), and then:

For my sensor system, I'll take Holographic Emitters. I can disguise my mech as a big hill or something! For weapons, I'll take Charge Cannon and Rapid-fire Lasers. Both distance weapons, but I think this mech isn't really made for the up-close stuff. For Defense, I'll take Cloaking (more light-based stuff) and Responsive Thrusters (I can reflexively move if hit). And then for Movement, I'll take Microfusion Reactor (which basically means I can cause a mini-nuke). It's dramatic, but I think it fits the character; this is him basically going "you wanna get nuts? 'Cause I really don't, but OK." 

And then I get one more system of my choice. I'll take Evasive Servos, and really lean in to the character being good at moving the mech around. 

Just need a name and description for the mech, then! Let's say the mech is made of lightweight polymers and so on, blue and white mostly, and it looks thinner than it is because the holographic plates are semi-transparent. The charge cannon is mounted on the left arm, and the laser arrays are housed in the chest (Shelton tends to roll his eyes at laser guns with barrels - it's light, it'll go where it's pointed). The mech is nicknamed "Dancer," because Shelton keeps it moving during a fight. 

That'll do it!