Project Neo Excalibur: Excalibur Destroid (no stats)

[Pouncer]

Well here's one of the results of a little side project I've been working on to create updated stats for the Sentinels' Destroids. Wanting to have a full write up I've gotten all "fluffy" and wrote up long bits to start up each file. I clipped the stats off to keep the post rules acceptable, and I may still tweek them just a bit.

I'm sure there are still a few errors in the text but here it is. And yes I did use the RPG as the starting point.

EXCALIBUR DESTROID

MBR-P04-Mk. II
Excalibur

With the introduction of project Pioneer during Earth’s rebuilding after the Zentradi uprisings entirely new mecha designs were obviously needed to carry out the needs of the Expeditionary Force. For the needs of the ground forces designers returned to the proven and well known destroids for their inspirations. Two separate projects were put into play competing for the new destroid designs, Project Neo Excalibur and Project Colossus. While the Colossus team sought to place as much firepower as possible into their designs Project Neo Excalibur worked along the same lines that were being worked with on the new veritech fighters, smaller more flexible designs better suited to storage and use on and from spacecraft.

The first designs revisited by Neo Excalibur were those of the Modular Battlefield Robot Weapon System (MBRWS) seeking to follow up on the cost savings of interchangeable components like the original MBRWS designs. First on the list was the Tomahawk main battle robot, the original’s powerful and flexible weapons array and good armor made it an prime candidate for the updating. However the original’s flaws, an overly complicated weapons array and low speed, would also have to be addressed.

Following the design philosophy that would lead to the new veritech fighters the design team started by reducing the size of the Tomahawk by 30% and using the latest in armor plate while angling the armor to better deflect attacks, both reducing the weight and adding to the protection of the unit. New motive systems combined with the lower weight resulted in greater speed and maneuverability as well.

Next the weapon systems were addressed, the trademark particle beam cannons were updated, halving the weapon’s recharge time while retaining the weapon’s range and slightly improving its damage potential, but only a single cannon was included so that a Spartan style arm could be used to increase the flexibility of the unit. A second hand was added to the particle beam arm as well. After some field testing a variant would be produced with two beam cannon arms to improve firepower. Both variants are still in use.

Both of the “flex-use” short range missile launchers were retained due to their effectiveness and firepower although the smaller launch door allowed for fewer missiles to be fired per volley.

The anti-air missiles, machine guns and TZ weapon clusters were replaced by a trio of powerful lasers mounted around the mech’s “head” and a pair of six tube mini-missile launchers mounted over the shoulders. With a functional right arm the unit would often carry an EU-13 weapon pod for heavier combat situations. Pilots quickly found the streamlined weapons load-out to their liking with no real loss of firepower.

The advanced and ergonomic controls allow for a singe pilot to make full use of the mecha although a second set of controls is included to allow for a gunner to greatly increase the effectiveness of the combat unit.

With the design finalized the new destroid was given the name Excalibur. As a well rounded heavily armed mecha both variants of the Excalibur excel as the primary main battle robot of the Expeditionary Force. While the swarm tactics of the Invid have proven problematic for all of the ground mecha designs, improvements in combined arms tactics have helped to alleviate the problems.

Operating in armored cavalry squadrons like the original Tomahawks, Excaliburs are organized in groups of 4, sometimes referred to as lances. With the small number of Battleaxes produced rarely would more than one be found in an Excalibur lance. However new tactics started to remix the composition of the lances, often one or two Gladiators would be included in them to provide close defense for the teams, especially against the Invid swarm tactics. When the Condor was introduced it too would join the lances doing much the same duty as the Gladiators did but with better maneuver options. The introduction of Cyclone, and later Silverback, equipped infantry would improve the use of infantry to support the combined arms teams, providing greater flexibility and ground holding abilities to the Excalibur lances.

Fire support lances made up primarily of Raidar X’s and Longbows are usually on hand to add additional anti-air capabilities to the ground forces.

Some units have also experimented with teaming the Spartas Veritech Hovertank with Excaliburs and other destroids as rapid response armored cavalry with great success. No matter what the composition of the ground forces however air support by Veritech fighters would always be necessary to overcome the flight capabilities all Invid units possess.

Also, while it has been often put forward that veritech fighters in battloid mode could replace the destriods and other ground battloids, the much higher resource cost, both for the fighters and the pilot training, for an actual loss in firepower and effectiveness has ensured that ground forces will continue to employ destroids for decades to come.

-POUNCER

[Pouncer]

Dang, something went a bit awry with the paragraphs. I'll figure out how to fix that in a bit.

[jedi078]

I replaced the head lasers with three ACC-11 lack cannons.

[Alrik Vas]

I replaced the Tomahawk with...nothing. I liked the silliness of it's combi-weapons and missile types.

[Pouncer]

I replaced the head lasers with three ACC-11 lack cannons.

I never really thought of that, I was working from the concept that the expeditionary force would have enough trouble keeping up their supplies of missiles and rail gun munitions for a long trip, so I went with trying to keep the number of projectile weapons to a bare minimum.

[Pouncer]

I replaced the Tomahawk with...nothing. I liked the silliness of it's combi-weapons and missile types.

After playing much in the Firestorm Battlepods I know how confusing the overload of weapons can be. The pods use a "firing circut" shortcut to group weapons to just 3 triggers to make them usuable.

[jedi078]

I replaced the head lasers with three ACC-11 lack cannons.

I never really thought of that, I was working from the concept that the expeditionary force would have enough trouble keeping up their supplies of missiles and rail gun munitions for a long trip, so I went with trying to keep the number of projectile weapons to a bare minimum.

I looked at it from the perspective of what weapons would be useful against the Invid? What weapons from those mecha showcased in the 2E books will fit with those that we don't (or may never get) stats for?

All Invid mecha fly, so defensive weapons that focus on anti-air are a must. Having several mecha that use the same weapon system (missile types, EU-14's, ACC-11, HRG-70 or HRG 140 rail guns etc).

Also I tend to think of the trade off between kinetic and energy weapons as follows: Energy weapons do less damage, but ammo is pretty much unlimited. Kinetic weapons are limited in ammo, but do more damage.

[Pouncer]

I replaced the head lasers with three ACC-11 lack cannons.

I never really thought of that, I was working from the concept that the expeditionary force would have enough trouble keeping up their supplies of missiles and rail gun munitions for a long trip, so I went with trying to keep the number of projectile weapons to a bare minimum.

I looked at it from the perspective of what weapons would be useful against the Invid? What weapons from those mecha showcased in the 2E books will fit with those that we don't (or may never get) stats for?

All Invid mecha fly, so defensive weapons that focus on anti-air are a must. Having several mecha that use the same weapon system (missile types, EU-14's, ACC-11, HRG-70 or HRG 140 rail guns etc).

Also I tend to think of the trade off between kinetic and energy weapons as follows: Energy weapons do less damage, but ammo is pretty much unlimited. Kinetic weapons are limited in ammo, but do more damage.

Against the Invid maybe as a late model refit, it would certainly be fitting, but the EF wasn't expecting them initially.

Same idea on the energy weapons, though I follow the basic concept that weaker ones get unlimitted fire and ammo. More powerful weapons, that can match or exceed projectile weapons, have either limitted rate of fire or charges.

[ZINO]

hot would it look like ???
love it !!!!
N1 man!!!!

[Pouncer]

hot would it look like ???
love it !!!!
N1 man!!!!

Ah, it would be the version from the Sentinels book, I'm still working on some art to go with this, but not ready yet.

Thanks.

[ZINO]

hot would it look like ???
love it !!!!
N1 man!!!!

Ah, it would be the version from the Sentinels book, I'm still working on some art to go with this, but not ready yet.

Thanks.

there a ton of free artist at devanart.com just in case wicked man!!!!

[Pouncer]

hot would it look like ???
love it !!!!
N1 man!!!!

Ah, it would be the version from the Sentinels book, I'm still working on some art to go with this, but not ready yet.

Thanks.

there a ton of free artist at devanart.com just in case wicked man!!!!

Heh, that's the trouble when you actually have art skills, ya' wanna do it yerself.

[Pouncer]

I remember the first time we had one of these on play. A player with a penchant for bad die rolls on pretty much anything except D10s wanted one, and so the GM allowed it. He promptly ran into a period where he rarely missed, and rarely rolled more than 15 on 5D10, so he ended up getting ravaged by armored scouts and shock troopers in like three fights. He ended up retiring that mecha after one too many fights, and found himself in a Raider X, which he quite liked apparently.

The next time we saw it in play, a new player joined our game, and wanted one, and again, the GM allowed it, and all of us, including said GM scoffed. The VHT in the group and the "Cally" pilot started a friendly rivalry almost before the actual character showed, up, and in out first real engagement, we all got an eye opening performance.

We came across a chasm about 100 meters across and around 250 meters deep, and on the other side was a force of about 30 full sized Zentraedi. Half were in various suits of body armor with various "smallarms" (for a Zentraedi), and the rest were all pods, save for one Officers Pod. So the VHT pilot "bets" the Cally pilot 500 credits that he can't "hit the red spot" on the OBP.

The Cally pilot accepts, and the players rolls *rattle, rattle like*...Natural 20! He cores the OBP before we can even figure out if the Zents are hostile (well, if there weren't before, there are now of course) and managed to frag a battlepod as well. That Cally pilot then proceeded to display the most amazing sniper skills with a particle cannon we any of us have ever seen, accounting for half a dozen different called shot kills in the next two rounds, and managing to smash a pair of pods with a volley of HE minis to boot, all while the rest of us dealt with the foot soldiers and other pods.

Needless to say, after that we never scoffed at Excaliburs' again!

Ah, the eternal demon of the good/bad dice.

-POUNCER