The Commando is a light mech and missile boat. It's an interesting option, as it pairs a single laser with two different missile racks. The range is short and shorter, but it's cheaper than a Locust. And there is something to be said about a low-heat mech.
The Commando Gallery
Iron Temple Guardian
18’ tall iron statues with massive crowns.
AC: 4, HD: 9 (41 HP) Att: 1x fist 1d6 or 1x kick 1d8 or 2x ensnare or 2x push. THAC0: 12, MV 90’. SV: D8 W9 P:10, B10, S12, ML:12, AL: Neutral, XP: 3,000 NA: 1d4, TT: 2x 500 GPS diamonds (the eyes).
Guardians are more determined than aggressive. They are usually set to guard an area such as the temple grounds, hence the name. These creatures are larger and more versatile than Iron Golems, but lighter and lankier. They can guard, pursue, or attack as commanded.
Mundane damage immunity: Requires silver or magical weapons to damage. Blunt and non-metal weapons will bounce. Sharp metal weapons will be absorbed and heal the Guardian for HP equal to the maximum possible damage for that weapon.
Energy Immunity: Immune to fire and cold.
Healed by fire: Each HP of fire damage restores one HP.
Energy vulnerability: If struck with fire and cold in the same round, they heal as per above but then take thermal shock damage. Thermal shock damage is equal to the maximum possible damage from the cold attack.
Mind Jolt: Scrying or mind reading will be ineffective as they don’t have minds. The caster must save vs. Paralysis or be stunned for the attempt.
Bonus XP: If a player role-plays a bouncing weapon, give them 50 XP each time. 100, if it is truly funny.
They pursue at half-normal speed and only use pushing or ensnaring attacks unless attacked, in which case they switch to kicking and punching. They will only punch or kick armed and aggressive attackers. If they flank a target, they switch to ensnaring and pushing again.
Ensnared creatures are carried by the Guardian. This causes no damage and up to 2 characters can be ensnared. The target(s) can wiggle out of the Guadian’s grip on a successful DEX check or after three rounds of trying. The escaping victim can either slide to the ground or ride on the Guardian’s back or crown. Riding characters won’t be attacked once they escape unless they attack the Guadian again. Up to 3 people can ride the Guardian’s back and one more in the Crown. Typically they are not controllable, but wiley characters can direct them by making reasonable suggestions.
If an ensnared or riding character successfully attacks the Guardian, they will be dropped and kicked (2d6 falling damage, plus a kick attack).
Pushing moves a target 6 feet in the direction of the Guadian’s choice and does no damage.
If an Iron Temple Guadian is destroyed by thermal shock, the parts can be gathered up and placed in a fire to restore the creature. This takes all day and the fire must be kept lit for it to work. This will place the Guadian under the fire-keeper’s command. If many people tend the fire, the last one to add fuel will be in command.
This particular run is called “The Hunt”. It transports special tradesmen and craftsmen to the supporting cities and towns of the Capital Region. The Hunt’s secondary purpose is a yearly survey of the road to ensure there is nothing to inhibit the normal caravan runs. The Hunt contains 14 wagons, 64 men-at-arms, and 6 cavalrymen to protect the wagons. This includes Mercy, Tilly, Misha, Garven, and Kayleb. Tilly and Mercy are assigned to the cavalry while Misha and Garven are assigned the first and last wagons.
There are 6 mighty 24-foot-long wagons for passengers. Each wagon has an awning and carries tents for camping. There are 4 16-foot wagons, heavily loaded with various goods and cargo for the trip. The caravan has a pair of small kitchen wagons that are little more than rolling ovens. A 12-foot larder wagon carries food. There is a massive war wagon that is the core of the defense. The war wagon is 3 levels high and is covered in metal plates and leather hides (AC 4).
The war wagon has 6 crossbowmen stationed inside at all times. Each of the other wagons has 1 or two archers or crossbowmen, except the larder and kitchen wagons which have no defenders. The vanguard is made up of 3 mounted men and 6 unmounted men-at-arms. There is a matching group of defenders at the tail of the caravan. The caravan doesn’t have enough men to completely rotate the guards and passengers are encouraged to act as an ad-hoc watch. Mostly, they tend to fire and drink late into the night, which is better than nothing.
Much of “The Hunt” is high pageantry. The road is well-maintained, well-mapped, and largely free of bandits or raiders. The local bandits avoid all caravans. There is a slight risk of pirate ships as even the pirates avoid the area.
The main concern is that the road crosses the equator, in the shadow of the Butter-Ripple Needle.
What the hell is the Butter-Ripple Needle?
The Butter-Ripple Needle marks the East Pole and was the last Space Elevator built by the High Men and the Iron Men. The four Space Elevators ring the equator. They are ancient. They are commonly known as the Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, and Butter-Ripple Needles in the vulgar language. They were built during the Great Silence when the High Men stopped writing, so the original names are unknown. (Actually, the internet decided and these are their real names.)
The route will cover 25 six-mile hexes or 150 miles. As mentioned before the area along the road is well mapped, so there is no hex crawling on the road. Off the road is a different story.
The first town on the road is Iron Tree, 18 miles from the Canvasary. The next stop is the port of Western Gate, two more hexes away. Before the mid-point of the journey is a farming community named Bounty. It is hardly a town, merely a hex-sized collection of farms.
This a milk run that the party will turn into an adventure.
POP-001 is meant for OSE. You can pick up a copy of Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Player's Tome and Advanced Fantasy Referee's Tome at DriveThruRPG.
I've been straightening out the workspace to have my laser and 3D printer ready to go at all times while maintaining a painting and modeling area. If I can manage it, I'd also like to have a small table for all of the ongoing game stuff.
I keep playing this game, and I've broken it the rules in so many ways. On my next playthru, I plan on using this set of deck plans for my ship.
This is my Devilfish ship simplified for Star Smuggler. It's 4 times bigger than the original game's ship. The original game created the opportunity to purchase a second, third or fourth ship, but never a larger ship.
Having run multiple ships at the same time, I know the rules break due to "out-dicing" the enemy. Simply put, the preprogrammed enemies can't split their fire effectively so multiple ships break the game.
To counteract this, I would create a tiny fleet of enemy ships so you aren't merely facing the Scout, the Battleship, Hoppers in space, and the handful of reskinned Antelopes.
Speaking of Star Smuggler (again), there is another game called Star Smuggler on Drivethru RPG. I was thinking of checking it out.
#MechaMonday is here and I am leading with my two favorite mechs - The Locust and The Archer.
