Power Core Combiner RPG outline

[Dominic]

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been hectc. When I get more caught up in one of my classes, I will try to draft a character sheet.


Dom

[Ursus mellifera]

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been hectc. When I get more caught up in one of my classes, I will try to draft a character sheet.


Dom

NO EXCU....*cough*

That's cool. I'd like some more clarifications on Mini-cons at some point, too.

[Dominic]

Here is a draft of the rules for Minicons and Drones.

Dom
-has much to add and clarify.

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Drones:
The best way to handle drones is to treat them as wargear, rather than characters. Each drone
will have a suite of abilities, similar to a playable character or an NPC. Some drones will be
purpose made for speed. Others for firepower or armour. It would also be possibly to make a drone
with some kind of stealth system, a salvage winch, force fields, comm relays or some other ability.

Another way that drones would be similar to characters would be the use of stat lines. Drones would
not have any applicable use for "courage", "rank" or "intelligence". But, traits like speed, endurance
and the like would be applicable.

Most likely, drone stats and abilities will be cheaper than abilities for playable characters and Minicons.
The drawback for this will be in how drones are used. Because drones are not characters, they cannot take
actions on their own. Players will have to direct their drones via their in-game characters.

A player character could direct a drone, (or possibly a group of drones), at the cost of one task per turn.
The drone will then begine to attempt/execute that task until it either completes that task, is re-assigned
or is destroyed. Drones assigned to the same task, (such as protecting/attacking something), could be
given the same job in one task. But, drones being assigned different jobs would have to be given direction
separately.

Tasks may span multiple turns. Player characters would only be penalized for drone tasks on the turn in
which the task was assigned. For example, Steelshot has two artillery drones under his command. He orders
both to attack Crankcase. This costs Steelshot one task. The drone begin to fire on or pursue Crankcase,
but they fail to destroy him in one turn. They will continue to attack Crankcase on the next turn and on
each successive turn until Crankcase is dead, they are destroyed or they have been re-assigned. On these
successive turns, Steelshot may use his regular allotment of tasks as normal. This may involved launching
additional attacks on Crankcase, running away from the battle or attacking another target.

Generally, drones may *not* be assigned complex tasks. Drones may attack, protect or carry. How, they
cannot make complext task-based decisions. Once a drone has completed a basic task, it will not find
something else to do. Similarly, a drone cannot execute a task that required random intelligence, such
as conducting a general sweep of a room. (Sending a drone to search for a specific object however, is
a possible option.)

Control of a character's drones can be broken in several ways. The player may relinquish control for one
reason or another, the player character is destroyed or the drone is co-opted in game. A player character
may relinquish control of a drone at any time for the purpose of allowing another player to use a drone or
for some other reason. In theory, an enemy character may find a way to subvert or commanderr a drone. If a
player character is destroyed or disabled, any drones assigned to them either revert to their original
commanders or begin patrolling/protecting the fallen commander.

Any player character with 4 drones of comparable size under their command may combine with those drones at a
cost of 2 tasks.



Minicons:
In terms of game-play, Minicons are treated as equipment for the player characters. They would be purchased
at cost in points by players and would be assigned to that player's character. In context, Minicons would be
semi-autonomous characters subordinated to the player characters.

As subordinated characters, Minicons can be ordered to complete certain tasks by players through their characters.
However, a player may opt ot declare that a Minicon has made an independent decision to carry out a task. In the
former case, the Minicon's directions would count agains the player's allotment or tasks, similar to the way drone
tasks would be counted. However, in the latter case, the Minicon's actions would *not* count against the player's
task allotment.

Because Minicons would effectively give players additional playable characters, they will be more expensive than
drones. Similar to drones, Minicons may be given specific weapons and abilities. Unlike drones, Minicons will
be assigned values for rank, intelligence and courage.

Minicons may perform complext tasks independently of a Commander, provided their stats allow them to perform a given
task at all.

Besides the higher cost in points, Minicons will have another considerable draw back. In some circumtances, (as
determined by the moderator), a Minicon may question their Commander's orders. This will usually be in a situation
where there is great risk to the one or more characters (particularly the Minicon). But, other circumstances may
arise. Disputes between Minicons and Commanders are best resolved through a combination of stat-comparisons (likely
between the Minicon's and Commander's rank values) and/or dice rolls.

While Minicons are initially assigned to specific characters, if a Minicon abandons a Commander, the Commander may
not command that Minicon for the remainder of the game. Other players may attempt to recruit the Minicon, rolling
for rank and intelligence. At the end of an adventure, the Minicon's Commander player may roll to re-assert control
over the rogue Minicon.

[Ursus mellifera]

Neat. I like that they can question orders.

[Dominic]

Still working on things.

Question (that I am unlikely to be able to do much with for a while):

Can any body think of any particular special abilities (sonics, magnets, cloaking, etc) that they would like to see in the game?


Dom
-just an idle thought.

[Ursus mellifera]

Still working on things.

Question (that I am unlikely to be able to do much with for a while):

Can any body think of any particular special abilities (sonics, magnets, cloaking, etc) that they would like to see in the game?


Dom
-just an idle thought.

Aside from those you mention, I wouldn't mind seeing rules for EMPs.

[Shockwave]

I'll post the WFC weapons/abilities list later. There's some interesting stuff in there. Not to mention that, if one has the time, we could comb through some tech specs and pull the various abilities from those.

[Dominic]

Time allowing, I would like to adapt all of them. But, for now, I want to start with what people want/plan to use.


Dom
-the RPG elements make this easier in terms of basic movement at least.

[Dominic]

Sorry for the lack of updates. But, right after classes ended, I barely got a break before things started getting hectic.

Truth be told, I am glad that I have not started taking the wrestling class again, because I really do not have time for that either. Hell, I have barely begun preparing for the A+ certifcation, which I sort of need if I want to get a better job by the end of this year.

You can probably figure out what that has to do with this thread. In all seriousness, I am not trying to duck or dodge this. I *want* to make a PCC RPG. I did a bit more reading on gaming this week, and that makes me want to do this more. But, time is at a premium for me at the moment, and the game is not the only large scale project that I have been slacking on of late.


Dom
-sorry guys.

[Onslaught Six]

No problem. These things take time, and we all have lives. Hell, we didn't even get that podcast started!