Secondary Skills Revamp

not sure why i didn't think of this earlier...

possible new ability for Scrounge: "Hunter-Killer" = flip the odds on your enemy and lure THEM into an ambush (seems to me that turnabout is fair play)

 

I love that... especially because it still requires a skillcheck... like the retreat or negotiating surrender mechanics.

one caveat to this, though... any unit this ability is used on is still knocked out for the duration of the contract. afterall, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to have a nearly cored out mech up and running by the next mission.

this way, players will still have to utilize the Dispossession mechanic and slum it in a vehicle or on foot, but at least the loss is not a permanent one.

 

So, another idea, to add some spice

When planning an operation, we could have our lance negotiators duke it out with each other for the choicest gig!

 

It came to my attention last night (thank you Skwi and MH) that repairing hip and shoulder actuators are still a massive pain in the ass for reasons too complicated to easily explain here. I found a work around, though. Hip and shoulder hits will be manually removed by GM powers prior to all repairs being applied. The small loss of "immersion" from this is well worth the prevented hair loss.

Astech repairs will be applied in the Repair Bay tab using the Gm tool "Complete Task". No Tech needs to be assigned to use this tool so it will safely preserve a Tech's precious repair work time.

Word of caution: please be very careful in keeping track how much you can repair as an Astech. Honor system applies here. If I catch people... "being liberal with repairs", the consequence will be appropriately undesirable. Also, please record all Astech repairs in your corresponding Lance threads. If you do not, the repairs will not be applied to your next mission.

 

The problem is that we do have multiple people with it (one in each lance I believe). I like your idea of "pooling" our negotiating talents, but I'm not sure yet how we would apply them as a group.

One step in the right direction might be to allow one person with Negotiation make the roll for everyone and if they screw up the roll, the next best Negotiator can "renegotiate". Obviously, the second roll will always replace the previous one to avoid scumming. It isn't much, but it is something more than what was done before.

UPDATE: Perhaps we could break the contract down into multiple sections. It might feel a bit arbitrary, but we could have one person handle one aspect of the contract like "salvage rights". Another person would roll for "battle loss compensation". Only problem I see here is that the results are completely unpredictable this early into the discussion. It will also require me completely rebuilding the contract formula... which I don't mind doing, but it will take time. We will need to test this further.

Funny you should mention this. I have something very similar in mind for Prometheus.
As far as the SoR campaign goes, I don't think it will be feasible until I get the Dynamic Mission Generator working. After that... possibly.

 

PROPOSED UPDATES TO SKILLS: (subject to change)

Leadership/Training

• "Divided" effect increased to 4-6 turns (40-60 seconds in-game time) depending on severity of Leadership roll failure (instead of flat 3 turns)
  
• "Armed and Dangerous" event - Pick 1 (instead of 2): Fire Support Lvl 3 or +2XP (+1 Initiative removed)

Tech/Astech

• Astech replaces Tech; Tech moved to more appropriate Primary Skills list
• Skillcheck relabeled as "Logistics" since it better describes the intended role and, theoretically, a Tech could still make these skillchecks
• "Priority" will be removed until the "Random Mission Generator" is working.
• "Quartermaster" will now be more strongly enforced
• repair facility bonus will now be more strongly enforced
• "Hack": a new "on-call" ability used during a mission
• "Salvager Savant": a new "on-call" ability that may be used ONCE PER CAMPAIGN CONTRACT (subject to further evaluation)
• I require the meeting with all Techs/Astechs to explain your role, the limit of your abilities, and things you will need to keep track of now.

Scrounge/Recon

• "Ambush" events will now go both ways; players can finally have the option to ambush OpFor
• an ambush will now feel more like an ambush; ambushing force can now deploy anywhere; BV bonus will be reduced to reflect this change
• the Ambush Table will be changed to incorporate Out of Cockpit combat
• "Enemy Intel" will be removed until pre-built OpFor packages can be introduced
• C-bill reward will be removed and replaced with the more appropriate "Target of Opportunity"; now you will need to work for your reward
• "Target of Opportunity" will allow players to unlock a bonus mission or secondary objective for additional rewards
  
• "Entrenched" will remain but will be tied in with player initiated ambushes
• 'counter "Divided" will remain, but reduce the number of turns (per level) rather than remove the effect entirely
• "Headhunter": a new "on-call" ability that will allow you to track down ejected pilots; put your bounty hunting skills to good use

Negotiation/Charm (subject to further evaluation)

• Lance Event Skillcheck: "They Owed Me One" = fast transport available for rapid redeployment (requires Dynamic Mission Generator)
• Lance Event Skillcheck: "Well Connected" = random reward that gives bonus to other skills
• Lance Event Skillcheck: +1/-1 modifier to Negotiation rolls during a mission
• Lance Event Skillcheck: "Morale Problems" = add a -1 Inititive penalty to lance
• Lance Effect Skillcheck: "Party Hound" = kept your lancemates up too late with your antics; +1 fatigue to lance
  
• Negotiating surrender for disabled pilots will remain intact
• may influence contract negotiations

 

How about getting on the good, or bad side of the local population? They warn you of an ambush, they warn the enemy of an ambush, they provide food and shelter (rested/initiative?), they harass and protest? Fits pretty well with the lore

 

good point. a Negotiation reward that cancels out or increases the chance of an ambush perhaps?

oh! what about a critical failure of Negotiation causes a riot to break out? ready your flamers, boys.

 

Due to limitations of MekHQ and its repair functions, I'm changing the repair mechanics for Astech. Here is an updated breakdown:

Basic Limitations of Astech

• extent of jobs available to work on are limited by an Astech's skill level (see skill levels, below)
• can only work on standard equipment (Star League era) unless otherwise stated by the GM
• all Astech jobs are performed using the "Complete Task" option under "GM Mode" menu
• cannot repair internal structure
• cannot repair engines, gyros, actuators, life support, sensors, or cockpits under any circumstances
• cannot replace lost sections under any circumstances
• for complicated reasons I won't list here, Hip and Shoulder actuators will now be auto-repaired by the GM (please let me know if I miss one)

Skill Level Breakdown

Level 0 Trained:

• competent with loading and moving heavy equipment
• cannot do any repairs

Level 1 Ultra-Green:

• can perform basic welding jobs
• may perform "Replace Armor (Standard)" jobs (up to 15 armor points)
  
• may perform x1 "Reload (Ammo)" job

Level 2 Green:

• skilled with welding jobs
• may perform "Replace Armor (Standard)" jobs (up to 30 armor points)
  
• may perform x2 "Reload (Ammo)" jobs
• may perform x2 "Replace (Ammo) Bin" jobs

Level 3 Regular:

• basic understanding of mechanical and electrical engineering
• may perform "Replace Armor (Standard)" or "Replace Armor (Ferro Fibrous)" jobs (up to 45 armor points)
  
• may perform x3 "Reload (Ammo)" jobs
  
• may perform x3 "Replace (Ammo) Bin" or "Salvage (Equipment)" jobs
• can submit up to Class C upgrade requests (see Upgrades spreadsheet for more details)

Level 4 Veteran:

• advanced understanding of mechanical and electrical engineering
• may perform "Replace Armor (Standard)" or "Replace Armor (Ferro Fibrous)" jobs (up to 60 armor points)
  
• may perform x4 "Reload (Ammo)" jobs
• may perform x4 "Replace (Ammo) Bin", "Salvage (Equipment)", or "Repair (Equipment) jobs
• can submit up to Class D upgrade requests

Level 5 Elite:

• same level of expertise as a Tech student
• may perform "Replace Armor (Any)" jobs (up to 75 armor points)
  
• may perform x5 "Reload (Ammo)" jobs
• may perform x5 "Replace (Ammo) Bin", "Salvage (Equipment)", "Repair (Equipment), or "Replace (Equipment)" jobs
• can submit up to Class E upgrade requests

Level 6 Ultra-Elite:

• same level of expertise as a newly graduated Tech
• may perform "Replace Armor (Any)" jobs (up to 90 armor points)
  
• may perform x6 "Reload (Ammo)" jobs
• may perform x6 "Replace (Ammo) Bin", "Salvage (Equipment)", "Repair (Equipment), or "Replace (Equipment)" jobs
• can submit up to Class F upgrade requests

 

i won't require it as the end results are unlikely to vary by much, but if you don't mind, i certainly will appreciate your effort. i personally think the most recent changes will make it a lot easier than before. i'm interested in feedback.

 

I hate to go back through everything, I think the difference with the latest change would be possibly getting one more dhs on line in my mech, I ended up 3min short of it after I used the lance tech to reload the lrm's on my thunderbolt. Granted I gambled on replacing my side torso with needing to roll a 6 and very thankfully hit just that so I might end up bricking my mech trying it all again.

 

i was not aware you made changes. did you post changes in your lance thread? that is really important.

 

nope I finished around 3am didn't upload anything just went and passed out

 

major overhaul to Skills Spreadsheet forthcoming. stay tuned.

unfortunately, now we are dealing with two versions of the same campaign savefile. for pragmatic reasons, we will have to work from the most recent "official" savefile from dropbox. however, for this one time i will manually edit the save to reflect your repairs if needed. in the future it is very important that you confirm with me that you are updating the savefile. otherwise, it will cause massive problems.

 

by the powers vested in me, everyone who has the following skills above Level 2:

• Leadership
• Tech/Astech
• Scrounge
• Negotiation
• Tactics

...has gained an additional +1 XP per level in said skills. I've already done the work. The newest savefile has been uploaded. You are welcome.

find new skill costs here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nrgj25ux47adpby/JRPj3DwcDM

find new savefile here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3afo9zlx9w9wrft/pue-HdsXdZ

Additionally, all characters will gain an additional Secondary Skill at Lvl 2 of the player's choice. To balance this, players will no longer have the option of skillcheck "safety" rolls using an NPC's skills. If your party rolls into a fight and no one has Recon skills... tough titties. Consider the second Lvl 2 skill as a backup in case your primary character with the skill gets knocked out or is unavailable.

I have very good reasons for this change. Chiefly among them is that I want our characters to be more well-rounded and less min-maxed into one category. Secondary skills will become crucial and you all best be ready for it.