This guide is designed to be user-friendly, without overloading you on information.
Note: You don't need to read any of this to play, however it makes filling in a profile easier!
If you just want a basic overview of how the game is played, read the 'Basics' section.
More detail can be found in the 'Details' section if you need more information.
Note: You don't need to read any of this to play, however it makes filling in a profile easier!
If you just want a basic overview of how the game is played, read the 'Basics' section.
More detail can be found in the 'Details' section if you need more information.
For people who don't want to have to read too much. This gives you the bare minimum to fill in a Character request and begin playing.For events out of your Mobile Suit, you have 5 Physical stats:
Agility - How fast you are.
Dexterity - How good you are with your hands.
Strength - How strong you are.
Endurance - How well you deal with pain.
Stealth - How well you can hide.
Also, for events which require talking instead of action, you have 5 Mental stats:
Manipulation - Skill at playing people against one another or to your favour.
Debate - Skill at discussions and countering points.
Subterfuge - Skill in hiding your true intentions, ability to lie.
Courage - How brave you are.
Deduction - Skill in evaluating a situation.
The vast majority of information in the character profile is just filler, apart from the Humanity section and the Currency section.
Willpower - an ability to overcome the odds.
Conscience - an ability or inability to act negatively.
Prestige & Disrepute - Prestige is positive reputation. Disrepute is negative reputation.
Higher values in any stat are usually better.
Mental and Physical attributes may come into effect in Mobile Suit combat, although they are less common.
When you fight in a Mobile Suit, you will be able to make one attack for each hand of your unit, plus any weapons that are mounted and can be fired (For example, the Dom's chest mounted Particle Cannon).
You do not have to worry about determining your success or failure in the game. A GM will do this for you.
On your Mobile Suit profile, statuses will show up as one of the following:
Agility - How fast you are.
Dexterity - How good you are with your hands.
Strength - How strong you are.
Endurance - How well you deal with pain.
Stealth - How well you can hide.
Also, for events which require talking instead of action, you have 5 Mental stats:
Manipulation - Skill at playing people against one another or to your favour.
Debate - Skill at discussions and countering points.
Subterfuge - Skill in hiding your true intentions, ability to lie.
Courage - How brave you are.
Deduction - Skill in evaluating a situation.
The vast majority of information in the character profile is just filler, apart from the Humanity section and the Currency section.
Willpower - an ability to overcome the odds.
Conscience - an ability or inability to act negatively.
Prestige & Disrepute - Prestige is positive reputation. Disrepute is negative reputation.
Higher values in any stat are usually better.
Mental and Physical attributes may come into effect in Mobile Suit combat, although they are less common.
When you fight in a Mobile Suit, you will be able to make one attack for each hand of your unit, plus any weapons that are mounted and can be fired (For example, the Dom's chest mounted Particle Cannon).
You do not have to worry about determining your success or failure in the game. A GM will do this for you.
On your Mobile Suit profile, statuses will show up as one of the following:
This part is undamaged.
This part has been damaged.
This part has been destroyed.
This part cannot be used.This is all the information required in the basic guide. If you think you need to know more, read the 'Details' section below.
This version of the guide has all of the information above, but explains more about how to play the game without giving you too much information.
Typically, normal actions like running do not require any numbers as they are actions you can pull off without question (unless for some plot related reason you choose to have your character trip over.)
Dice are only used when there is a potential for failure that would effect the game or story in some way, for example attempting to chase a fleeing spy or catch an incoming ball.
Don't worry, you don't have to roll dice or remember numbers. A GM will do this for you.
Just remember, higher is better!
For events like these, your character has five physical stats:
Agility - How fast you are, used for chasing, running, all related activities.
Dexterity - How good you are with your hands, could be used for throwing, catching, swordsmanship.
Strength - How strong you are. Arm wrestling, lifting, carrying, throwing heavy objects may use this.
Endurance - How well you deal with pain. If you are hit with something that would hurt a lot, a test of your endurance may be needed.
Stealth - How well you can hide. Infiltration and Espionage may rely on this.
Typically, this will be a dice roll on a D10 (A dice that has 10 sides), versus a difficulty based on the task, modified by your ability in that field.
Don't worry, a GM will calculate these odds and roll the dice for you, translating that into text.
For example, if you had to outrun a normal person, perhaps the difficulty would be 5 or more on that D10. But if you had an agility rating of 3, representing a character that spent their time in athletics, track running, etc, you could escape on a 2 or more instead.
Failure during a test of a physical nature depends on the event in question - it could mean you fail to run away, drop an item, whimper in pain or fall into a coma. There’s no way to say what will happen without a given event in mind.
A result of a 1 will always be classed as a Failure, no matter the difficulty or skill (Within reason. A Games Master has a right to ignore this rule for the sake of story.)
Of course, people do not just use physical attributes in day to day life, and so you are given five mental attributes too:
Manipulation - Skill at playing people against one another or to your favour.
Debate - Skill at discussions and countering points.
Subterfuge - Skill in hiding your true intentions, ability to lie.
Courage - How brave you are.
Deduction - Skill in evaluating a situation.
These are also rolled on a D10 just like physical tests, and all actual dice rolls in the system will be handled by a Games Master who will then translate the result into part of the action.
Here is an example from a game session. A superior officer is trying to intimidate another character:
Captain McKenzie glared at the Ensign before him. “I don’t like your tone, kid.” he stepped forward, towering a clear head above the girl. “How do I know you’re not some Zeek sympathiser?” the feeling of rage emanating from his person is overpowering.
((GM verdict: Courage test for Ensign Lovett. Difficulty 4. Reduced by 1, as she has a Courage rating of 1, to difficulty of 3. She has passed, looking away from McKenzie indignantly.))
Ensign Lovett stiffened her lip into a scowl, “I don’t sympathise with them, I just think you’re a heartless bastard for wanting to torture the captive!”
In the above example, the double brackets represent Out Of Character talk, or information that is given outside of the game. The text above and below are characters reacting to the GM’s description of the situation. Sometimes, a GM will not state the numbers, particularly in complicated situations where they would slow down gameplay.
Most of the rest of a character profile is filler, plus a list of currency and abilities they have, apart from the Humanity section, which includes the following:
Willpower - an ability to overcome the odds. Can be spent to increase your own dice results.
Conscience - how caring you are. A character with a low value may find it easier to kill or act negatively.
Prestige & Disrepute - Prestige is positive reputation. It can be spent like money to purchase new Mobile Suits, upgrades, or repairs. Disrepute causes modifiers to opponents courage and can also be used as a currency to DEMAND repairs, upgrades and units, though disrepute increases when this occurs. While that may seem good at first, eventually your own allies will not trust you.
This is essentially all there is to know about a character outside of a Mobile Suit.
Next we move on to combat inside of one.
Mental and Physical attributes may come into effect in Mobile Suit combat, although they are less common.
This block of text, down to the equation explains some of the calculations involved. You do not need to know this to play, although it may help you understand combat.
A Mobile Suit’s attacks to hit are usually done against a difficulty of 6 on a D10. The difficulty can be 7 or 8 if a target is moving fast, jumping or both.
Of course, it’s never so simple as a single factor - both the Mobile Suit attacking and the target play a part in the final result, and so the attacking Mobile Suit’s accuracy with the used type of weapon (Ranged, Melee or Artillery) is subtracted from this difficulty. However, as the enemy is attempting to evade, the target Mobile Suit’s evasion is added to the difficulty afterwards.
Once again though, Mobile Suit combat is not a simple matter. It’s not just the machine that changes the outcome, but the pilot too. The attacking pilot’s Aim Precision is subtracted from the difficulty, wile the defending pilot’s Reaction Time is added to the difficulty. In equation form, it looks like this:
Difficulty +/- (Accuracy+Precision) +/- (Evasion+Reaction Time)
This is again simply a D10 roll, equal to or higher than the required number to succeed, 1 is always failure without a Games Master’s over-writing.
Accuracy can also be reduced by targeting smaller sections and specific parts of a mobile suit (+1 Difficulty for something like an arm or leg, +2 difficulty for a joint, foot, monitor, etc)
You will of course pick which weapons you use in a fight (one for each hand plus any “hands free” mounted weapons) and declaring attacks in a priority order -
Faster pilots declare their moves after slower pilots so that they can react with greater ease, whilst a slower pilot would have to choose between cancelling their attack to defend, or allowing themselves to be hit by a faster pilot who is shielding from their attack. A Games Master will explain the priority order during each round of the combats.
Defending with a shield is also rolled, with a different ease depending on where it is mounted (4+ for hand, 5+ for arm, 7+ for other mounts.) The difficulty of this is increased by 2 if you are cancelling your attack to defend as you have to concentrate in a short period of time.
The attacks that manage to hit deal damage rolled on many different types of dice and may have special rules that come into play, but a Games Master will simply translate all of these numbers into damage you can understand, stating things like “The artillery round slams into the Gouf’s head, severely denting the unit and ripping apart it’s conductor cables.”
Rather than use numbers on Mobile Suit profiles, G-GEN has recently updated MS Profiles so that they use one of four colour-coded icons instead. This makes it easier for players to see what condition their Mobile Suit is in at a glance.
Typically, normal actions like running do not require any numbers as they are actions you can pull off without question (unless for some plot related reason you choose to have your character trip over.)
Dice are only used when there is a potential for failure that would effect the game or story in some way, for example attempting to chase a fleeing spy or catch an incoming ball.
Don't worry, you don't have to roll dice or remember numbers. A GM will do this for you.
Just remember, higher is better!
For events like these, your character has five physical stats:
Agility - How fast you are, used for chasing, running, all related activities.
Dexterity - How good you are with your hands, could be used for throwing, catching, swordsmanship.
Strength - How strong you are. Arm wrestling, lifting, carrying, throwing heavy objects may use this.
Endurance - How well you deal with pain. If you are hit with something that would hurt a lot, a test of your endurance may be needed.
Stealth - How well you can hide. Infiltration and Espionage may rely on this.
Typically, this will be a dice roll on a D10 (A dice that has 10 sides), versus a difficulty based on the task, modified by your ability in that field.
Don't worry, a GM will calculate these odds and roll the dice for you, translating that into text.
For example, if you had to outrun a normal person, perhaps the difficulty would be 5 or more on that D10. But if you had an agility rating of 3, representing a character that spent their time in athletics, track running, etc, you could escape on a 2 or more instead.
Failure during a test of a physical nature depends on the event in question - it could mean you fail to run away, drop an item, whimper in pain or fall into a coma. There’s no way to say what will happen without a given event in mind.
A result of a 1 will always be classed as a Failure, no matter the difficulty or skill (Within reason. A Games Master has a right to ignore this rule for the sake of story.)
Of course, people do not just use physical attributes in day to day life, and so you are given five mental attributes too:
Manipulation - Skill at playing people against one another or to your favour.
Debate - Skill at discussions and countering points.
Subterfuge - Skill in hiding your true intentions, ability to lie.
Courage - How brave you are.
Deduction - Skill in evaluating a situation.
These are also rolled on a D10 just like physical tests, and all actual dice rolls in the system will be handled by a Games Master who will then translate the result into part of the action.
Here is an example from a game session. A superior officer is trying to intimidate another character:
Captain McKenzie glared at the Ensign before him. “I don’t like your tone, kid.” he stepped forward, towering a clear head above the girl. “How do I know you’re not some Zeek sympathiser?” the feeling of rage emanating from his person is overpowering.
((GM verdict: Courage test for Ensign Lovett. Difficulty 4. Reduced by 1, as she has a Courage rating of 1, to difficulty of 3. She has passed, looking away from McKenzie indignantly.))
Ensign Lovett stiffened her lip into a scowl, “I don’t sympathise with them, I just think you’re a heartless bastard for wanting to torture the captive!”
In the above example, the double brackets represent Out Of Character talk, or information that is given outside of the game. The text above and below are characters reacting to the GM’s description of the situation. Sometimes, a GM will not state the numbers, particularly in complicated situations where they would slow down gameplay.
Most of the rest of a character profile is filler, plus a list of currency and abilities they have, apart from the Humanity section, which includes the following:
Willpower - an ability to overcome the odds. Can be spent to increase your own dice results.
Conscience - how caring you are. A character with a low value may find it easier to kill or act negatively.
Prestige & Disrepute - Prestige is positive reputation. It can be spent like money to purchase new Mobile Suits, upgrades, or repairs. Disrepute causes modifiers to opponents courage and can also be used as a currency to DEMAND repairs, upgrades and units, though disrepute increases when this occurs. While that may seem good at first, eventually your own allies will not trust you.
This is essentially all there is to know about a character outside of a Mobile Suit.
Next we move on to combat inside of one.
Mental and Physical attributes may come into effect in Mobile Suit combat, although they are less common.
This block of text, down to the equation explains some of the calculations involved. You do not need to know this to play, although it may help you understand combat.
A Mobile Suit’s attacks to hit are usually done against a difficulty of 6 on a D10. The difficulty can be 7 or 8 if a target is moving fast, jumping or both.
Of course, it’s never so simple as a single factor - both the Mobile Suit attacking and the target play a part in the final result, and so the attacking Mobile Suit’s accuracy with the used type of weapon (Ranged, Melee or Artillery) is subtracted from this difficulty. However, as the enemy is attempting to evade, the target Mobile Suit’s evasion is added to the difficulty afterwards.
Once again though, Mobile Suit combat is not a simple matter. It’s not just the machine that changes the outcome, but the pilot too. The attacking pilot’s Aim Precision is subtracted from the difficulty, wile the defending pilot’s Reaction Time is added to the difficulty. In equation form, it looks like this:
Difficulty +/- (Accuracy+Precision) +/- (Evasion+Reaction Time)
This is again simply a D10 roll, equal to or higher than the required number to succeed, 1 is always failure without a Games Master’s over-writing.
Accuracy can also be reduced by targeting smaller sections and specific parts of a mobile suit (+1 Difficulty for something like an arm or leg, +2 difficulty for a joint, foot, monitor, etc)
You will of course pick which weapons you use in a fight (one for each hand plus any “hands free” mounted weapons) and declaring attacks in a priority order -
Faster pilots declare their moves after slower pilots so that they can react with greater ease, whilst a slower pilot would have to choose between cancelling their attack to defend, or allowing themselves to be hit by a faster pilot who is shielding from their attack. A Games Master will explain the priority order during each round of the combats.
Defending with a shield is also rolled, with a different ease depending on where it is mounted (4+ for hand, 5+ for arm, 7+ for other mounts.) The difficulty of this is increased by 2 if you are cancelling your attack to defend as you have to concentrate in a short period of time.
The attacks that manage to hit deal damage rolled on many different types of dice and may have special rules that come into play, but a Games Master will simply translate all of these numbers into damage you can understand, stating things like “The artillery round slams into the Gouf’s head, severely denting the unit and ripping apart it’s conductor cables.”
Rather than use numbers on Mobile Suit profiles, G-GEN has recently updated MS Profiles so that they use one of four colour-coded icons instead. This makes it easier for players to see what condition their Mobile Suit is in at a glance.
This part is undamaged. It may be used as normal. This part has been damaged. It is still able to be used as normal, but may break soon. This part has been destroyed. It is not useable. This part is/ was linked to part of the Mobile Suit that has been destroyed. It cannot be used.This is essentially all of the information you may need to know in order to play!
You will pick up the game mechanics and how the rest of the profiles fit in as you play.
You will pick up the game mechanics and how the rest of the profiles fit in as you play.
