[Mechaton] Assorted questions

[Solamasa]

Vincent,

I have a few questions in the wake of two games and hours of explodey-mecha fun:

1.  A mech being attacked doesn't yet have a defence number, so goes through step 3(f).  If the attacker does damage that destroys pertinent attachments (e.g. destroying the weapon that will be used, or even destroying the mech entirely), does the damaged or destroyed mech still goes through with its attack?  (We've played "yes".)

2.  Can your mech perform actions it doesn't have attachments for?  This is only ambiguous to me inasmuch as the dice assignment part of step 3(d) doesn't reference whether a given attachment exists:  it looks like you can do anything as long as you have white dice to assign.  (We've played "no".)

3.  Are ties in score at the end of the game resolved in some way?  (We've played "no".)  If yes, how?

4.  Cover!  It provokes much wailing and gnashing of teeth!  How can we stop wailing and gnashing our teeth?  Should we be totally abstracting cover to say that anything whatsoever that you're up against (or within 1 of)--and that's between you and your attacker--counts as cover?  Even if "rough line of sight" shows, say, three quarters of your mech showing to the attacker?

Thank you for your time! 

And thank you for designing the game!  We've never played any table-top miniature fighty games before--too pricey, too complex--but this is great fun.

-kit

[Valamir]

Here's how play at GenCon went.

1.  A mech being attacked doesn't yet have a defence number, so goes through step 3(f).  If the attacker does damage that destroys pertinent attachments (e.g. destroying the weapon that will be used, or even destroying the mech entirely), does the damaged or destroyed mech still goes through with its attack?  (We've played "yes".)

Yes, the mech always gets the dice it rolled.

2.  Can your mech perform actions it doesn't have attachments for?  This is only ambiguous to me inasmuch as the dice assignment part of step 3(d) doesn't reference whether a given attachment exists:  it looks like you can do anything as long as you have white dice to assign.  (We've played "no".)

A mech can do anything with white dice regardless of attachments.

4.  Cover!  It provokes much wailing and gnashing of teeth!  How can we stop wailing and gnashing our teeth?  Should we be totally abstracting cover to say that anything whatsoever that you're up against (or within 1 of)--and that's between you and your attacker--counts as cover?  Even if "rough line of sight" shows, say, three quarters of your mech showing to the attacker?

Cover is easy.  If your wailing and gnashing you're trying too hard.  If you are within 1 range unit (melee range) of an obstacle or another mech you have cover if your mech is on the opposite side as the attacker of an imaginary line extending the cover out.   So, if you have a wall, pretend the wall goes on forever.  If the attacker is on one side of the line and you are on the other and you are within 1 range of the wall you have cover...line of sight is not a consideration.

We also playtested a new cover rule.  The standard rule is that you take damage on 5-6 or just 6 with cover.  With this rule on a 5 the cover takes the damage instead.  If the cover is a wall remove at least 5 dots worth of bricks, if the wall gets to 1 level high it no longer provides cover.  If the cover is a mech...it gets nailed.

[Solamasa]

Ralph,

Yes, the mech always gets the dice it rolled.

Oh.  Oh!  Then that brings up something related but different:  so you can start at, say, artillery range and roll your 2d6 red dice for your artillery weapon, then move into direct fire range, then attack, and those red dice aren't suddenly invalid?

A mech can do anything with white dice regardless of attachments.

...Including, therefore, attacking at any range, regardless of weapon attachments.  Wow, we've been playing a significantly different game!

Cover is easy. (snip)

Ah!  I understand now!  Great explanation.

Thank you!
- kit

[lumpley]

Awesome!

1. Yes. When you take damage, all the dice you've just rolled stand.

2. Here are the things you can do with a white die:
- Move
- Defend
- Spot
- Attack at hand to hand.

3. No. Ties are ties.

4. Any cover is all cover. Ralph's right.

Oh.  Oh!  Then that brings up something related but different:  so you can start at, say, artillery range and roll your 2d6 red dice for your artillery weapon, then move into direct fire range, then attack, and those red dice aren't suddenly invalid?

No. You wasted your attack. Not only do the dice go away, your whole attack fails to happen.

However, you get to decide whether you move first then shoot, or shoot first then move. So there's never any reason why you'd declare an artillery range attack, then scupper it by moving into direct fire range before it goes off.

-Vincent

[Ben Lehman]

2. Here are the things you can do with a white die:
- Move
- Defend
- Spot
- Attack at hand to hand.

Just to clarify: White dice can be used for these four things, plus anything that you have an attachment for.  Right?

yrs--
--Ben

[lumpley]

Yes!

Okay, let me try again.

Every turn, you can move. If you have no movement attachments, you can still move.
Every turn, you can defend yourself. If you have no defense attachments, you can still defend yourself.
Every turn, you can spot. If you have no comms attachments, you can still spot.
Every turn, you can make an attack.
- If you have no weapons, you can make only a hand-to-hand attack.
- If you have weapons, you can make an attack at a range appropriate to one of your weapons.

You can move with a green die or a white die.
You can defend yourself with a blue die or a white die.
You can spot with a yellow die or a white die.
You can attack with a red die or a white die.

So the deal with white dice and attacking is that you can always use a white die for your attack, but you can't make an attack at range if you don't have a weapon at that range. Only hand to hand.

Kit, how're you doing?

-Vincent

[Solamasa]

Vincent,

Kit, how're you doing?

Right as rain now!  All's clear.

However, I heartily recommend adding an explicit mention of the hand-to-hand only stipulation to the rulebook.  We few players, at least, didn't get that from our reading of the GenCon edition.

Thank you!!
- Kit

[rafial]

Now I've been inspired with a question along these lines.  Tag team!

So lets say I'm using the a mech with attachement group 2 (The wings & jets & the two cannons under each wing).  That guy is rated at 1d6 h2h, 2d6 df, and 1d6 artillery.

Now lets say that my mech is currently at artillery range to everybody, but I'm planning to fly into direct fire range and pound somebody.  When I roll my dice do I

a) pick up 1 red die for my weapons at my current range, and it doesn't matter that I close before I attack or
b) say "I'm planning to attack and direct fire range this turn" and pick up 2 red dice?

[lumpley]

B.

If you then somehow fail to make it into direct fire range with your declared target, you simply don't get to attack after all.

-Vincent