Tales of the RDF - OOC

Meowfyre said:
Sorry, I've had to stop rping to focus on collegework.
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Meowfyre, Real Life Always Comes First, friend! You get that college work good and done! Perhaps in the future when your schedule is more opened up you can come and join us?
@Sherwood Miriya Sterling is the only Zentraedi allowed to pilot a VF? Holy moly!


Well, that's gotta change! I'm standing up for RDF-friendly Zentraedi rights as of this moment! What's a player gotta to do make 2nd place in that race? Ha ha!


Concerning having the rep of an FPA ace, I am all for that. The more I read about Robotech's history, the older (and more experienced) Taniya's seems to become. Reading through Palladium's first two Robotech books today, I learned a few things that helped clear up some confusion (I never did see the Robotech series; I am only familiar with the excellent Macross movie).


Is it feasible for Taniya to have been grown and developed under, say, Breetai's command? If so, could she have fought the Invid prior to Breetai's force being sent to Earth? If Taniya were 10-15 years old (or more? I'm still not certain how age works here) she would have a lot of years living the way of the Zentraedi. Perhaps she was working her way up to FPA ace the entire time, or perhaps she was chosen to groom newer FPA pilots toward excellence in battle or something. Her age would explain why she is having such a difficult time adjusting to living on Earth (as opposed to 2-year-old Zaile who doesn't have all that time and experience working against her). Also, I can see Taniya deeply respecting Breetai and Exedore and fully accepting their willingness to fight their fellow Zentraedi during the first Robotech War, and therefore fully throwing her hat in with the RDF.


In other news, I have ordered Robotech: Macross Saga Sourcebook and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. =)
 
If you check out your first edition books, it clearly states that Zentraedi are never trusted with the piloting of any Earth mecha for many years. If that is still the case in 2e, a fact that I have not found on my own, I have tossed that out of the window for this group. FEAR THE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY STORYTELLER! Ahem. Now then. If you want Taniya to have faced off against the Invid in the past, you're going to have to adjust her age up quite a bit. According to our timeline, it was in 2009 that Breetai's fleet made its initial contact with humans, so if you were to have fought the Invid it would have to have been before that date, adding a few years onto the target to give time for that first fleet to do some planet hopping as it followed the SDF-1 from system to system. That will also allow you time to have developed a rep as a FPA pilot. Spending all that time in Breetai's fleet would also allow you the time to see him as a commander worth your loyalty, unlike Khyron that was given the nickname of "The Backstabber".


On another note, you should enjoy the new book. I have the whole set in paper and PDF (except for the new Marine's sourcebook; it just came out and I haven't had the opportunity to get it in PDF yet. Probably will be able to get it from DriveThru.com).
 
Sherwood sez, "FEAR THE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY STORYTELLER! Ahem."


You are such a goof! =)


All of this sounds good to me. I guess I'm not certain how old to make Taniya. I would like her to be old enough to have experienced everything you have just mentioned (and it seems to me that Breetai really was a good guy, though I don't know much yet about Exedore - was he pretty cool too?). Given this, about how old do you recommend Taniya be?


Also... who else is joining us for this adventure? @Beowulf ? @Sohisohi? Others?
 
So make Taniya an even decade old. Ten years is plenty to have seen some Invid combat and still be a full participant in the entire First Robotech War. Though arguably such a Zentraedi should be higher than 1st level (given Rick Hunter started at 0 and wound up at 7th or 8th over the same span of time...).


Ah the joys of playing Palladium Part 17: Kevin S. never seemed to imagine people would want to play characters who weren't utterly brand new.


Though if Sherwood's willing to tip you a couple of levels, I'm not going to object. Zaile might actually be the youngest Zentraedi alive at this point (assuming they stopped cloning more after the First Robotech War ended) so 1st is fine with me but that level of relative inexperience isn't for everyone.


Yeah, Sherwood's reading of 1e seems to line up with my own. Our girls might be the very first Zentraedi to pilot human mecha for the RDF. At least in Zaile's case, the fact that she's both young for a Zentraedi and that she's married and utterly besotted with a Micronian so there's little risk of disloyalty might be what tipped things for her. It's worth noting that the time period Taniya and Zaile are living in is one of pretty profound (if not universal) discrimination against the Zentraedi species. Besides human resentment that our species annihilated most of theirs, food shortages, work competition and the Malcontent movement have given the aliens from the stars a pretty black reputation in a lot of parts of the world. The RDF is probably the most professional about it but individuals will likely give us the glare and the civilian population is going to be highly mistrustful I imagine, especially with as close to the Containment Zone as this adventure seems to be.


Sherwood, that your view too?
 
Epiphany, you have nailed it spot on. Such mistrust is why so many Zentraedi decided to leave the Earth with the REF; at least with them, they are treated as they should be, based on the merits of the individual, not judging them by the actions of their race.


 
Forgot to add an important fact: Exedore is currently one of the oldest living Zentraedi at nearly 450 years. He was in the first batch of clones made by the Robotech Masters, and helps to explain how it is that he knows so much. Even in a closed society like the Zentraedi, you can learn a lot in that amount of time.
 
Oh, concerning the experience level, I want it to be fair-and-square (1st level). I was thinking maybe Taniya was subjected to something that reverted her combat skills to that of a 1st level character without affecting the rest of her (perhaps a combat injury, scientific experiment, side effect of getting too close to some protoculture or whatever reason one could come up with).


In another game I am a part of, a player asked to play a favorite character who was higher-level and much better-equipped than the other folks in the party. The storyteller allowed this by making said character equal to the others in experience and not able to use the gear (until perhaps later). This way, the players were happy and the game balance remained. I would love for Taniya to have her experiences but not at the cost of game balance.


I like the idea of our characters being among the first Zentraedi who have a shot at piloting Veritechs (I love playing Veritech pilots, especially the flying variety).


I am not familiar with the Malcontent movement (or, for whatever reason, I don't remember that word in Robotech the RPG). What is that about, please?


 
Or... perhaps Taniya is super at being a FPA ace, but has now decided on a new RCC, and therefore must just start all over again?
 
The Malcontents are a group of Zentraedi that are having trouble adapting to human culture. They are the ones that are the most aggressive and evil, and that's why they don't fit in. They have congregated in major areas; the first is in South America, and the second in Africa. The heavy jungle is good cover for the Zentraedi forces, both the ones that have gone through the micronization process and those that are still full sized.
 
Oh, that's the name that they go by. Thanks! I'll probably see it when Robotech: Macross Saga Sourcebook gets here. =)
 
There is a little bit of info about the Malcontents in that book, but the most of the material I'm using is from the various 1e books that are available on line. Lots of good stuff out there.


Well, GenCon is over, and I'm now at the airport waiting for my flight to go home. It was a blast. I have some great new material to use with my games, much of it would work well for a beginning REF game. New MOS's, aliens, and mecha galore!
 
I wish you a safe flight home to your loved ones, Sherwood! =)
 
No worries. I am quite willing to work with you. Lets go over the characters and see what tickles your fancy.


Destroid Ace 1-3 are the dedicated troopers that have specialized in the piloting of the massive mecha. 1 and 3 are both combat specialists, while 2 has a different skill set as a demolitions expert. All three of these characters come with Mecha Elite Combat Training (MECT) in two of the five Destroids.


Next is the Field Scientist that I posted. That character is a scientist and doctor, not as good in combat but not a slouch, either. The Field Scientist gets to pick one of the five Destroids as your combat specialization. The primary mecha to go with is going to be either the Tomahawk (top rate front line mecha), the Spartan (a civil defense unit without the same punch as the Tomahawk, but with a good variety of weapons) and the Defender (primarily an air-defense mecha, but can engage ground targets with great accuracy)


Military Specialist 1 and 2 are experts in the art of jungle warfare. They each get to pick out one Destroid. 1 has more electronic countermeasure skills, while 2 is more a generalized combatant.


Next, there are the two Zentraedi. They are both micronized members of the alien race that attacked the Earth. Since you are not familiar with the Robotech saga, I would suggest that you stay away from them.


If there is an idea you'd like to play that you don't see here, let me know and I can whip up something.
 
I really like the field scientists character. The only other thing I'm confused with is that when I go and look at other people's character sign ups, I see a lot of number adding and words with melee attached to it. I have never been able to understand that. And i totally understand if my lack of understanding enables me unable to take part in this
 
No no no! Don't get discouraged! I can help. ( :) )


The Field Scientist is a good mix of doctor and biologist, and helps to give the team a doc and computer expert. If that is the route you wish to go with, go ahead and copy it over to the Characters tab. I would recommend the Tomahawk as your Destroid of choice; it is heavily armored and has a good range of weapons.


When it's time for a battle, you will have a total of six actions to either attack or dodge. In the first few fights, I'll give you my personal suggestions on how to survive, and @Dannigan is a long time player of this system, too. Listen to him, and he won't steer you wrong.


For your combat bonuses, you have a Strike, Parry and Dodge roll. What this does is this: You roll a d20, and add your bonus to that number, higher the better. Each mecha gives you a different set of combat bonuses, and you add them together with your personal ones on your character sheet.


This will give you the following numbers:


Strike: +7


Parry: +9


Dodge: +7


Initiative: +1


Roll with Punch/Impact: +6
 
The site has a dice roller attached to it. You will find it when you make a post, down at the bottom right is a small tab marked 'roll dice' It gives you the option to choose between a standard roll (which is what you want) or an Exalted roll (which you should avoid). The roller then asks you for the number of faces on the die (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20 and 100 are the most common ones), how many dice to roll, and if you have any bonuses to add to the roll. It will look like this when done:


[dice]9558[/dice]


The way you read that is a twenty sided dice rolled with a +8 bonus, giving a final total of a 26
 
<shrugs> It's no biggie. Just wanting you to enjoy your time here at RPNation, and my game in particular.


Any other questions you have, don't hesitate to ask.
 
Heya Lorelei Winchester! Love your avatar (mental institute! Hah!). I'm Dannigan (call me Dann!) and I'm glad you're gaming with us.


Want to talk shop? Maybe some basics?


Here we go. In the Palladium system, both attackers and defenders get to roll these "die-twenties" or d20's.

Dice_(typical_role_playing_game_dice).jpg



(Image credit: en.wikipedia.org)


So, let's say we are roleplaying. Your character gets accosted by a bad guy and combat takes place. Time for some action! Both your character and the baddie get to roll d20 for Initiative to see who goes first (or, for whatever reason, you can give your opponent the initiative, though this isn't often recommended).


You and the bad guy roll and he wins - so here comes the bad guy! He throws a punch at your character (Strike). Your character might elect to attempt to parry (block with one's limbs or in-hand item, which does not take up a character's action), dodge (move one's body out of the way enough to avoid the attack entirely, which usually does take up one of your character's actions), or roll with the punch (take the hit, but at less damage, which also usually takes up an action).


In this game, Robotech...


Strike: Always takes an action.


Parry: Automatic (no action).


Dodge: Usually takes an action (depends on character's fighting style).


Roll: Always takes an action.






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Let's talk results: The attacker's Strike result (d20 + strike bonus) must beat the defender's defense result (d20 + parry, dodge, or roll bonus) in order to be successful. All tie results go to the defender. Natural unmodified rolls of 1-4 automatically miss while natural unmodified rolls of 20 (often called "Nat 20!") are automatically successful!


The actions that do not take up your attacks are called automatic actions. It does not mean that said character is automatically successful, but instead they get an automatic attempt at defense (think of a good boxer keeping her guard up).


What happens when a character runs out of actions for the round? Well, they're pretty much left with keeping their guard up until the opponent is out of actions. Then the next round takes place. =)


Also... don't think that you have to know all of this right away. Like any game, learning the rules takes time (and sometimes guidance). You'll get plenty of both here in Sherwood's game. =)


Questions?


P.S. This being Sherwood's game, he can and will make any corrections or additions to what I'm saying here. Until next, keep your guard up and your eyes open! Heh! =)
 
Thanks, Dann. I knew that I could count on your input!
 
You're welcome! Are you all right with that information for now or are you ready to learn more?
 
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