This is a modular construction system which gives players and Referees a fast, easy method of building Stingray-technology Hardsuits. This system is based on our own anime mecha construction system, the Mekton Technical System (MTS for short). MTS fills most of the pages of Mekton Zeta Plus, the technical manual for our generic anime mecha roleplaying game Mekton Zeta.
Although the number-crunchers out there (you know who you are) will find that this system does not give exactly the same totals as those generated by MTS, the numbers come very close to those of both MTS and the BGC RPG. By sacrificing a little bit of technical detail, this system accomplishes the same basic task more easily, and more accurately reflects the "super-heroic" style of Bubblegum Crisis.
While this system can be used to reconstruct the mecha seen in the Bubblegum Crisis OVA series, it is primarily meant to be used to build your own brand-new, original Hardsuits. What this system does NOT do is invalidate the use of MTS—if you want to, you can still make use of the material in Z+ to create new, never-before seen technological gimmickry in the best Bubblegum Crisis tradition.
When using this system, you have the choice of designing your Hardsuit from the ground up, or using die rolls to randomly determine the suit's characteristics.
STEP 1: GENERATION
First decide whether your Hardsuit will be First Generation, like those in BGC 1-4, Second Generation, like those in BGC 8, or Third Generation, like those in Bubblegum Crash!. All Hardsuits cover the entire body and include a helmet; all costs are in Improvement Points (IP – the Experience Points of Cyberpunk 2020/UC3K)
HARDSUIT GENERATION
To randomly determine the Generation of your Hardsuit, roll 1D6:
1-3: First Generation Hardsuit (44 IP)
First Generation Hardsuits have 55 SDP, a STRength of 9 (which also multiplies the wearer's Lift value by 9), a Maneuver value of -1 to REFlexes, an MA bonus of +4, a Jumping range of 100m, a Rank-6 ECCM suite, a bonus of +1 to PREsence, Life Support, and a +2 Perception HUD. The weight of a First Generation Hardsuit is 74+2D6 kilograms.
4-5: Second Generation Hardsuit (55 IP)
Second Generation Hardsuits have 60 SDP, a STRength value of 10 (which also multiplies the wearer's Lift value by 10), a Maneuver value of ±0 to REFlexes, an MA bonus of +4, a Jumping range of 150m, a Rank-7 ECCM suite, a bonus of +2 to PREsence, Life Support, and a +2 Perception HUD. The weight of a Second Generation Hardsuit is 64+2D6 kilograms.
6: Third Generation Hardsuit (66 IP)
Third Generation Hardsuits have 60 SDP, a STRength value of 10 (which also multiplies the wearer's Lift value by 10), a Maneuver value of +1 to REFlexes, an MA bonus of +5, a Jumping range of 200m, a Rank-8 ECCM suite, a bonus of +3 to PREsence, Life Support, and a +2 Perception HUD. The weight of a Third Generation Hardsuit is 57+1D10 kilograms.
HARDSUIT COMPONENTS
In case you want to modify individual aspects of your Hardsuit, the cost for each component is listed below:
Structure: Structure costs 1 IP per 5 points of Hardsuit SDP
Strength: Strength costs 1 IP per point of Hardsuit STIR. The Lifting multiple is equal to the Hardsuit's STR.
Maneuverability: A penalty of -2 to Ref reduces cost by 4 IP; a penalty of -1 to Ref reduces cost by 2 IP; no modifier to Ref & Dex has no cost; a bonus of +1 to Ref costs 2 IP.
Design & Style: Design & Style costs 1 IP for each +1 bonus to the wearer's REP (maximum +3).
Running: Running costs 1 IP per +1 bonus to the wearer's MA.
Jumping: Jumping costs 1 IP per 10m of jumping distance.
Life Support: Full sealing versus Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical agents costs 3 IP.
Electronics: The standard Hardsuit electronic systems (targeting and lowlight vision with 1km range, radio with 10km range, and HUD instrumentation granting a +2 Perception skill bonus) costs 5 IP.
ECCM: Electronic Counter-CounterMeasures cost 3 IP for Rank-6, 4 IP for Rank-7, or 5 IP for Rank-8.
Weight: When you're building a Hardsuit with no particular Generation in mind, roll 3D10+56 to determine the suit's weight in kilograms (if you like, you can add another two D10s to get an additional decimal value).
STEP 2: ARMOR
Next, cover your Hardsuit with whatever armor seems appripriate. The SDP of a Hardsuit depends upon its Generation, but Armor protection varies from suit to suit. First Generation Hardsuits have a maximum SP rating of 50, Second Generation Hardsuits have a maximum SP rating of 60, and Third Generation Hardsuits have a maximum SP rating of 70. In any event, should the suit's armor be penetrated, any remaining damage is divided equally between the suit's SDP and the wearer's Hits. To determine your Hardsuit's Armor Protection, refer to the table below:
HARDSUIT ARMOR
Armor costs 1 IP per 2 KD (round up):
For First Generation Hardsuits, roll 1D6:
(1)= 35, (2-3) = 40, (4-5) = 45, (6) = 50
For Second Generation Hardsuits, roll 1D6:
(1) = 45, (2-3) = 40, (4-5) = 55, (6) = 60
For Third Generation Hardsuits, roll 1D6:
(1) = 55, (2-3)=60, (4-5)=65, (6)=70
CONSTRUCTION EXAMPLE
Let's say we want to construct our own original Hardsuit for our Bubblegum Crossfire campaign. In this case, we want a light, high-maneuverability Hardsuit to serve as a close combat unit, much like Linna's suit.
We begin with Structure; since the suit is supposed to be light, we give it a Structure of 50 SDP (10ip). Strength doesn't need to be too high either, so we choose a basic 9 STR (9ip). On the other hand, we want maximum maneuverability, so we choose a bonus of +1 Ref & Dex (2ip). Design & style is always a concern, but we don't want to overdo it, so we go with +2 PRE (2ip). Running and Jumping will be important, so we choose +5 MOVE (5ip) and 200m jumps (20ip). All Hardsuits include full sealing versus Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical agents (3ip), as well as targeting and lowlight vision with 1km range, a radio with 10km range, instrumentation, and a +2 Perception skill HUD (5ip). We're not too worried about ECM, so we choose Rank-6 ECCM (3ip). Thus, our basic Hardsuit costs 59ip.
Next, we add armor. We want relatively light armor, so we go with a basic 50KD, which costs 25ip.
Finally, we choose weapons. Since this is a close-combat suit we choose a Lasersword (10ip) and a Knuckle-Bomber (2ip) as the main weapons. We decide it would be cool if the lasersword really was a sword, wielded by the left hand, so we decide not to give the left hand a manipulator, but we do want the right hand (the one with the Knuckle Bomber) to have a manipulator (2ip). Feeling that the left hand is under-represented, we add a Knuckle Guard to it (6ip). Overall, the weapons cost 20ip.
Adding up the costs of all our components, our total is 104ip. Rolling 3D10 and adding 56 (and then throwing another two D10 rolls) we find that the suit's final weight is 74.26 kilograms. Now all we need is a good-looking young person from any walk of life to squeeze into this thing, and Look Out Boomers!
STEP 3: FEATURES
Now comes the fun part! Determine what special features your Hardsuit possesses, and don't forget to note where each is located; that part of the Hardsuit could be damaged during combat, in which case you could lose those Features too! Add their costs to those of the Frame and Armor, then move on.
To randomly determine the number of Features your Hardsuit has, roll 1 D6+1. For each Feature, roll 2D10 to determine what feature you get (note that if you get the same feature more than once, you have more than one of the same feature, like Sylia's three pairs of weapons).
HARDSUIT FEATURES & WEAPONS
Roll 1 D6+1 to determine number of Features; for each Feature, roll 2D10 to determine which feature it is:
2 - Ribbon Cutters (17 IP)
A pair of Ribbon Cutters costs 17 IP. They are limited to Melee range and their WA is -2, but a successful hit does 7D6x3 Armor-Piercing damage. This damage is applied twice (to represent the fact that there are two ribbons), and they are Quick, allowing two attacks in one Action.
3 - Wrist Rapier (9 IP)
A single Wrist Rapier costs 9 IP. It is limited to Melee range, has a WA of +1, and does 7D6x3 damage.
4 - Flight Wings (1 IP per 1 Move)
A pair of wings which grant flight cost 1 IP for every 1 Move of Flight (a Flying Move of 60 would cost 60 IP, for example). The maximum flying Move that can be bought depends upon the Hardsuit's Generation: 50 for a First Generation Hardsuit, 75 for a Second Generation Hardsuit, 105 for a Third Generation Hardsuit. If a flight wing is destroyed, the Hardsuit can no longer fly.
5 - Laser Sword (10 IP)
A single Laser Sword costs 10 IP. It is limited to Melee range, has a WA of +1, and does 7D6x4 damage—this damage treats any
armor as offering 20SP less protection.
6 - ECM Suite (cost varies)
Electronic CounterMeasures can be used to affect Radar, sensors, and/or missiles. They cost 35 IP for Rank-6, 45 IP for Rank-7, and 58 IP for Rank-8. The added ability to override missiles in flight costs another 26 IP
7 - Hypersensors (22 IP)
A set of wide-spectrum scanners has a 25km sensor range and adds another +1 to Perception skill checks (+3 total). It includes a 250km Radar array, thermographics, X-ray vision, seismic sensors, a magnetometer, and a Target Analyzer. This package costs 22 IP.
8 - Computer (cost varies)
A Computer costs 10 IP, plus 11 IP per 3 points of POW (max POW 9).
9 - Railgun Array (15 IP)
A multi-barrel railgun array (like the one on Priss' first and second Hardsuits) costs 15 IP. It has a range of 350 meters, has a WA of ±0, and does 7D6x2 Armor-Piercing damage. The weapon has an ROF of 2 and enough ammo for six two-shot bursts.
10 – 10 - Laser (cost varies)
A laser gun costs 1 IP per 1 D6 of damage done while on Beam set ting. Base WA is ±0 and base range is 560m plus 20m per die of damage over 12D6. The cost includes a Burstfire setting, which has an ROF of 10 but does 1/2 damage, 75% range, and suffers -1 WA. Since the output of the Hardsuits' lasers vary greatly, you can randomly determine the damage output of the laser by rolling 1D6+1D10; the result, added to 12, is the number of damage dice done by the laser gun (range is determined as normal).
11 - Manipulator (2 IP)
A powered Manipulator which converts the Hardsuit's STR-derived hand-to-hand damage to Killing damage costs 2 OR A non-powered glove is free.
12 - Knuckle Bomber (2 IP)
A single 6-shot Knuckle Bomber costs 2 IP. It is limited to Melee range, has a WA of +/-0 and does 6D6x5 damage. If you want to randomly determine the number of charges your Knuckle Bomber has, roll 1d6 1 = three charges, 2 = four charges, 3-4 = five charges, 5-6 = six charges.
13 - Increased Maneuverability (13 IP)
A higher-mobility Hardsuit (such as Linna's) gains a bonus of +1 to its Ref values, +1 to its MA, and +100m to its Jumping range. Increased Maneuverability costs 13 IP.
14 - Leg Bombers or Rocket Kicks (7 or 8 IP)
A pair of ankle-mounted Leg Bombers cost 7IP, and a pair of anklemounted Kick Rockets cost 8 IP. They are limited to Melee range, have a WA of -1, and do 7D6x5 damage. Rocket Kicks do not run out of shots, but Leg Bombers have six charges per leg.
15 - Combat Torch (3 IP)
A single Combat Torch costs 3 IP It is limited to Melee range, has a WA of +1, and does 7D6x4 damage; this damage treats any armor as offering 20SP less protection, but each Combat Torch only has enough fuel for one Phase of use.
16 - Knuckle Guard (6 IP)
An electromagnetic Knuckle Guard costs 6 IP. It is limited to Melee range, has a WA of ±0, and does 7D6x4 damage.
17 - S-Mines (6 IP)
A rack of three S-Mines costs 6 IP. An S-Mine does 18d6 damage, with a blast radius of four meters. A successful hand-to-hand Attack Action plants the S-Mine on your enemy.
18 - Wire-Daggers (77 IP)
A pair of Wire-Daggers costs 77 IP. They have a range of 30 meters, their WA is +1, and a successful hit does 6D6x3 Armor-Piercing Shock damage. This damage is applied twice (to represent the fact that there are two daggers) each time an attack is made.
19 - Pulse-Striker (35 IP)
A Pulse-Striker system costs 35 (!) IP. It has a range of 212 meters, its WA is +3, and a successful hit does 5D6x5 Shocking damage. This damage is applied to a five-meter area, but it takes the system one full Phase to warm up between firings.
20 - Barrier System (30 IP)
A Barrier System like Nene's costs 30 IP It offers 120 SP against energy attacks only, and once it is penetrated, the entire shield collapses and is useless until it's repaired. In addition, the Hardsuited wearer cannot move (MOVE Stat = 0) while the Barrier is up.
