Mech of the Week: Hitotsume Kozo

Week Three of the Mutant Sea Bass Know Your Enemy Series (still trying to decide on a name other than "Mech of the Week", which is pretty bland and boring)


Today we continue with our study of the DCMS Samurai Mechs with the  Hitotsume Kozo.

From the limited fluff, we learn the Combine is undergoing an unofficial cultural rebirth in the military, sort of like Sun Tzu Liao's revival in the 3060s that gave us the Yu Huang, Men Shen, and the Lau Wu. This one is designed for "more aggressive samurai". So the 'Kubi is for suicidal ones, the Kozo is for aggressive ones. Also, we find out its name means "One-Eyed Dwarf". Field both of these mechs with Hammerfall/Jack Farrell and the original One-Eyed Jack Jupiter for the One Eyed Theme!

This mech gains the difficult to maintain quirk, which only really comes into play under campaign rules. It does so, because the Combine is using Triple Strength Myomers on this mech. This doesn't really make a lot of sense, since the Combine has experience with the No-Dachi in the realm of TSM, but I digress. Maybe they just haven't used TSM in a while. TSM increases a mech's walking points by one, and recalculates the run speed accordingly. So a 3/5 mech goes 4/6. 4/6 = 5/8, and 5/8 = 6/9 and so on. It also allows one to deal more damage in physical attacks. I think it's doubled, but I'm not too sure. Either way, it is activated when the heat scale reaches 9, and ignores the -1 to movement points and the targeting hindrances. Sadly, most designs that use TSM are loaded with explody ammo (I'm looking at you, Hammerhands dual RAC version!). This mech uses a Heavy PPC and two ER Medium Lasers to balance the heat load. Worry not; the variant uses the autocannon that our Clicky versions use. Also equipped is a axe. Now, the Combine invented the SWORD in response to the Davion's barbaric AXE. This is probably done so that Catalyst didn't have to make a new Japanese-stlye weapon that this mech uses.

The mech weighs 55 tons and uses an Inner Sphere Endo Steel Chassis. Because of the Hardened Armor, it moves 6/8, but with TSM moves 7/10. Running hot, it will keep up with the 'Kubis and run down light mechs. It also jumps 4 hexes/inches, so it is a pretty fast and maneuverable mech. It is made by Luthien Armor Works and built primarily on New Smarkand. It uses both an XL Engine and Gyro.

Our variant swaps the PPC and Lasers for an Ultra AC/10 and IS Medium Pulse Lasers. I'm not seeing this as a good mech. You keep same basic damage/range with the big guns, but are now dependent on 2 tons of ammo in a, read this slowly, Non-CASE'd torso with an Inner Sphere Extra Light Engine, on a mech that needs to be running hot in order to do its job most effectively...  I have a rule: If its ammo is not CASE'd, and it uses anything bigger than a light engine, it's a failure. Yes, Hardened Armor will protect it for a while and if you fear a breach, dump the ammo and become a brawler. But still, I could take this mech out of the fight by letting my opponent run it hot for the TSM, then drop Infernos and Plasma weapons on it to force an ammo explosion or shutdown.

Now the primary version I really like. Cover the Panthers and 'Kubis, supplement the Shiro's fire support, and be ready to charge forward and make a frenzy of bladed implements. This mech also has the Stable Quirk: "The exceptional stability of certain units is reflected in the Stable Quirk, giving those units a bonus when they are forced to execute a Piloting Skill Roll as a result of physical attacks". This mech is essentially a mid range support and brawler mech. Treat it like an over-armored, undergunned Hunchback.

How do we make it better? Swap the Axe for a lance or sword. Add a capacitor to the PPC or upgrade to a CLAN ER model. For the variant, give it CASE. Both could use C3 or BC3.

Next week, we will look at the Shiro!

Nascent Mech of the Week Attempts...

(updated: removed superfluous wording) 

Recently, within Clan Mutant Sea Bass, two things have happened. One, the Khan approched me with an intelligence gathering mission: to seek out hidden Word of Blake installations (the remaining "Hidden Five") and open bids for their eradication. Personally, I like the Regulan policy for dealing with the Blakists. Give NCO-level warriors the authorization to use tactical nuclear weapons, and keep a ship or two in orbit to rain nuclear hellfire down on the toaster worshippers. But, I'll make it a fun campaign. Number Two, Catalyst is moving further into the Dark Age. This makes me happy, as it was Mechwarrior: Age of Destruction that got me into the hobby. So, having gained Era Report: 3145 and the TRO's thus released, I've been planning out Clan Mutant Sea Bass: The RPG. Coming to a game store near you Winter 2014.

That said, lots of the "clikytech" units we only had dials and vague stats for have been getting Battletech stats and entries since TRO: 3075. So, to better prepare my potential players and to garner interest amongst Clikytech Grognards, I've been running a Mech of the Week series on the group's Facebook page, Clan Mutant Sea Bass: The Facebook Group. I've decided to port my first two over to this page, and any future ones as well. So...consider this a double MOTW Post!

AS7-D3 Atlas III

That's right. Atlas III. We all know the backstory of the Atlas, but long of the short: Star League era design. Kerensky wanted "to use fear as a weapon". 100 ton mech with a skull, long range missiles, big autocannon. This was perfect, but the Royal Regiments wanted something to show off their cool tech (They got the XL Engines, ER Lasers, etc. before the Regulars). So TRO: 3075 gave use the Atlas II. As it turns out, this is what Nicholas Kerensky piloted up until the Widowmaker Khan rolled a hit with his SRM 6, rolled a 12 on the missile hits table, and kept rolling twelves until Kerensky was gone. This was also the mech that Devlin Stone chose to drive. Because of it's under arm cannon, proto-leg armor plates, we just assumed that our Hammerfall and Davion Atlases where Atlas IIs. Well, we where wrong.

Before I go further, let me point out that in these 3145 TROs, Catalyst is going back to the FASA-style books, where upon we get a brief overview of the unit, a few paragraphs on its capabilities, then several paragraphs on its deployment and variants (if any) and notable units/pilots.

Off the bat, we find that this mech is built by Robinson, with two factories cranking these mechs out. One is the GM plant on El Dorado, and the other RSB on Robinson. I think this mech may be the replacement for the Sagittarie. They have utilized many advanced systems, but let's start with the basics. It has a Vlar 300 engine, pushing it at normal Atlas speeds of 3/5. With no XL or fancy XXL engine, this version, like most, will stay around for a while. It has standard armor, so we can use more space for weapons, but actually uses CASE II. Unlike CASE, CASE II just blows the hit ammo/weapon out the backside of the mech, meaning you don't lose a torso and the corresponding arm in the explosion. It has 100% armor protection, with five points lost. It has Endo Steel, and that takes up 5 tons. Both arms have Small Shields. Finally, just in case the enemy gets lucky and crits your head, the cockpit is armored. In game play, this means that if the opposing player rolls on the critical hits table and rolls for the cockpit, you ignore the first hit. This is crucial, especially since this is a commanders mech. Not just any commander, but a March, RCT, or Galactic Emperor's mech. Armor is layed out smartly, with 50 points in the center torso. I'm not gonna go through how it's layered out, but suffice to say, this is one tough nut to crack. So already, we have a mech that is hard to kill without concentrating fire, has jettison-capable and armored systems, and can lose both torsos and STILL be kicking. This mech is the Monty Python Black Knight. But all this is nothing without weapons right?

Good news: Davions either can build or have bought a bunch of Clan Streak LRM 20s. Given that the Atlas III and its variant are still rare, it's likley that they have bought them from the Diamond Sharks. The Streak LRM 20 operates just like a Streak SRM, only with LRM ranges. It is located in the right torso with its CASE II protected ammo. Bad news: Our big autocannon is a Rotary AC/2. The AC/2 on "buzzsaw" mode drops 12 damage at range, which, when combined with the Streak 20, is 32 points. The RAC2 has the "Jettison-Capable Weapon" quirk. Since it's ammo is also stored in the arm, this means that if your gun is hit, you can just drop all of it and not have the dead weight. Of course, this also leave you with less crit-padding in a way, but at least the gun and ammo are recoverable. This is useful for campaign play, as you now don't have to worry about busting the cannon if you punch someone. Both guns have 2 tons of ammo. The center torso houses an Angel ECM suite. It knocks down C3, C3i, and I think even Boosted C3, in addition to normal ECM Suite duties. The left torso houses the Inner Sphere Streak 6, its single ton of ammo,CASE II, and two Medium X-Pulse Lasers. It also houses the "Radical Heat Sinks". Sounds pretty radical right? Well, it is a reusable Coolant Pod. This is fluffed in Era Report 3145, but the details are still forthcoming. It does weigh three tons and take up four crits, but the ability to re-pop the coolant pod (even though it may break after repeated use, like MASC) is pretty good for this mech. The left arm has two more X-Pulse Lasers.

The D2 is described as more of a main-line combatant by dropping the RAC, both shields, two lasers, and the Radical Heat Sinks for a HAG 30 and a Targeting Computer.  The NAIS MUSE Project from the late Jihad saw the MUSE Rifleman mount two of them, so it may be safe to say the FedSuns can build HAG-30s. We trade six-two point plinks for six-five point hits, which along with the Streak 20 (it keeps the Streak!) and its four-five point hits, makes for a solid crit seeking sand blaster.

It also gets "Command Battlemech" (+1 Initiative rolls, non-cumulative), "Distracting" (if using morale checks, it provides bonuses to your team and negatives to the enemy), and "Protected Actuators" (something about infantry attacks and crits) quirks. These are, assumedly, standard Atlas Quirks.

Unlike most Atlas I and the Atlas II, which could at least choose to between slug or cluster bullets with their standard and LB-X autocannons, the Atlas III, no matter the two, is a crit-seeker. Do not bank on or expect to amputate limbs or blow a head off in a salvo. Instead, supplement this with something with big guns. I've not seen the AFFS Random Assignment Tables, but traditionally, Atlases, Nightstars, Devastators. Actually, screw the table. Here's a lance, with no specific variant: (EDIT: I found it, and I don't like it.)

Atlas III
Salamander
Devastator
Devastator

You have the Atlas's weaponry, more LRMs, four Gauss rifles, and four PPCs. Plus secondary medium lasers and crap, this lance is scary.

Like most Atlases, you must also bracket-fire your weapons. Use the RAC and Streak LRM at range. The LRM shoots out to 21 hexes or inches, the RAC 18. The other weapons all have ranges of 3/6/9. Consider also, you can Alpha Strike at pointblank range; Clan Streak LRMs don't have minimum ranges!

As for taking one out, you'll be in range of the Streak 20 off the bat. So even if the target numbers aren't good, the Atlas III will be shooting you just because if it misses, it will not lose ammo or build up heat. In standard (no aerospace/artillery games), pound it at range with gauss rifles and PPCs. Duetoit's critpadding, you need big, accurate, concentrated blows to get through it.  This mech justifies the Dire Wolf D, Cygnus (dual HAG 40 variant), and the Hellstars. You would be forgiven bringing two Hellstars JUST for dealing with the Atlas III, because it will live a long time.

My personal views,besides those listed herein: Why the hell are you using X Pulse Lasers on your Commander-level mech with Clantech? If you're gonna go Clantech with the weapons, go whole hawg! Swapping those for Clan Medium Pulse saves you on heat AND opens a medium range band AND increases damage, for no crit/weight changes. Both would benefit from this upgrade. From there, you could also swap for a Clan Streak 6 as well. Given that the AFFS has kept their C3, why doesn't it AT LEAST have a slave unit? Maybe the D1 has the slave, a bigger autocannon or gauss rifle, and the Clan streaks/pulse lasers. For a Clan, using one of these would be very good. Against mechs like the Daishi, it probably won't last long, but it will punish the Daishi every step of the way. I can see Galaxy Commanders and Khans driving one. After all, if the first Atlas was good enough for Kerensky, and the Atlas II his son, should not the new Atlas III be good enough for a new Clan?

Overall, the Atlas III is a fitting mech and good continuation of the Atlas series. I'm sure once Field Manual: 3145 gives us the rules for all the cool stuff, we may get to see our Hammerfall and Black Bart on the Battletechfield.

RT-4K Rokurokubi

This week's mech begins a four part mini series on WizKid's little faction totem mech-gimmick: the Draconis Combine and its Samurai Mechs. The RK-4T Rokurokubi is the first in our series, with the Hitotsume Kozo second, and the Shiro finishing out. So, let's check out the 'Kubi! (I'm calling it the Kubi for ease of typing!)

As with pretty much every entry in the 3145 series, we are told little of the hows and whys of these new units. I'm starting to think that it may be because these are mostly written from the viewpoint of Janella Lakewood, the Knight who pilots the LE Republic Tundra Wolf. In-universe, these readouts seem to be briefings for Republic units inside the Fortress to know what they can expect on the outside, and those on the outside to know their enemy. So, we know that the 'Kubi appears shortly after the Blackout, and the younger generations of Samurai are enthralled by this design. Apparently, they have been known to duel each other for the honor of piloting this mech. Sounds familiar... This mech is designed as a light striker, similar to the Panthers of old.

Taken straight from the text: "The Rokurokubi was clearly meant as an offensive ’Mech tailored to the bushido-happy samurai of the Combine. Combining one powerful ranged weapon with an iconic sword, the ’Mech is a fearsome attacker. Its combination of speed and thick armor make it difficult to bring down before it can terrify its opponents with a four-meter sword."

In the base line variant we get a Light Autocannon 5 and a Sword. (On a side note, I love the idea of a 12-foot sword. If any of you are metallurgists, I need one of those along with a Bumper Sword from Fallout New Vegas.) The autocannon has two tons of ammo, which allows us to use standard, armor piercing, precision, FLAK, and whatever other new rounds we have. Ammo is stored, CASE-less, in the same arm as the gun.  Looking at their record sheets, all variants flip/flop on armor. One has more armor upfront, the other will lose armor in the front to gain it in the rear, and vise-versa. Fortunately, that armor is in the form of Hardened Armor for the first two versions, and Reinforced for the "rare" model. More on that armor later. Hardened Armor's side effect is that you lose one movement point on running, so while other light mechs, like our Blood Bass, will move 7/11, the Kubi only goes 7/10. It also forces skill checks for jumping, due to it's super-dense nature. The benefit though, is that each point of armor can take two points of damage. On the -4T, it has a armor value on the center torso of 16. Which means it can absorb 32 points of damage on it's center torso, if my knowledge and math is right. If so that's two shots from a Gauss rifle or one of our PPCs. There aren't a lot of stock light mechs that can take one shot to the chest, much less two. The 'Kubi needs that protection though. It uses both an XL Engine and an XL Gyro. As for quirks, we find that it has Protected Actuators and No Ejection Mechanism. Protected actuators allow it safety from battle armor and infantry swarming attacks, so that's a good thing. The lack of an ejection seat really caters to that whole Bushido mindset.

The base line and Inner Sphere ER PPC variants will charge forward. I wouldn't be surprised if on the LAC version, the warrior either used precision bullets to offset his to-hit numbers at full run, or if they just emptied the bins andbid only the sword and mech. The armor obviously helps protect it on the way in, and once there, the sword and physical attacks will come into play. You put your decent piloting-skill pilots in this thing and charge the enemy. You can take a hit and get into his lines and mess him up. Even better, if you aren't playing a fluffy DCMS force, feel free to rain fire down with Ninja To's and Naginata mechs.

The rare -4X drops the sword and hardened armor. In their place, it adds a bigger engine to go 8/12 for the full 12, a small vibroblade, a Clan ER PPC, a Guardian ECM Suite, and Ballistic Reinforced Armor. The armor is a new toy for our era, and as such we only so far have the fluff. Apparently made by the Lyrans, it was an attempt to combine the protection of the Hardened Armor, with the lighter weight and ballistic-weapon defeating abilities (and lesser bulk/weight) of Reactive Armor. What they got was in fact lighter AND less bulky Hardened Armor, with a layer of mesh that traps and warps the effects of direct-fire ballistics and explosives. Not sure what that will do to Mech Mortars and Artillery, but apparently it is extremely useful, despite its high cost and uneasy maintenance. This variant is what your most skilled young samurai drives, before you gift him a Kozo or a Shiro. The ECM also makes this sort of an interdictor unit. While this one and the other variants (Lance of one -4X and three -4T) charge forward, the -4X will be guarding his lance mates from C3 systems and Artemis IV.

Now how do we make it better? Well, a Davion salvage piece would probably want to add as much insult those as possible. Give it a Hatchet or a Mace. The honorable sword is now gone, replaced by a barbaric blunt object. Next, give it a cowardly C3 system so your coward friends can link off your targeting system. Maybe even give it TAG so those cowards in the artillery battalion can rain Arrow IV down. Finally, TSM with 4 ER Medium Lasers, maybe even Clan models. With TSM, your speed is recalculated at a +1 (so 7/11 becomes 8/12, or 8/11), and your physical attacks I THINK are doubled in damage. I'm honestly surprised the three variants, or (spoiler) any of the Samurai mechs don't use it. Off the top, I think only the No-Dachi used it. Someone correct me?

For a DCMS warrior, lance. It needs a lance. If I remember right (can you tell I don't have my copy of TacOps handy?!), it allows you a physical attack at one hex (1") away with a chance at a critical piercing hit. I would be happy with a retractable blade in lieu of the lance. TSM must be installed. To allow that TSM, and knowing this is a close-quarters brawler...give me a head-mounted flamer and a gauntlet of Improved Heavy Small Lasers. Round it off with one of those fancy Nova Cat XL engines and we'd have a little monster (gimme the Japanese name for little monster!).

For anything else, I could see jump jets and "Reinforced Legs" quirk for a nasty little DFA, Claws, Retractable Blades...Talons to replace those fugly hooves. Oh here's a nasty weapon's upgrade paired with the TSM: Improved Heavy Large Laser. A short-range, infinite ammo Gauss Rifle (the iHeavy Lasers explode when hit) with heat to build up the TSM. Yes!

For taking one out, a Clanner will love the chance to engage in singular combat. Just be ready though, because these Kurita Warriors, while honorable, will engage us in hand-to-hand combat. Many warriors, especially those who have access to retractable blades (Karhu variants), may welcome it, and I recommend against the Combine, we do not treat it as a violation of the Zell, as long as the terms have been laid down before battle. That said, outside of rival Warriors and Honor-rules, FOCUS FIRE. As soon as it enters range target it's legs or a side torso and put it down. Aimed shots are your friends here. If you are Inner Sphere, the Mjolnir and its mace/TSM combo will wreck the Kubi. If you are Clan, my iSolitaire (Improved Heavy Lasers replace the originals) or a Cougar with Pulse Lasers will win you the day. On the Cougar, you could also drop minefield missiles from its LRM 10s and attempt to control the movement path of the Kubis. Airstrikes can work, or predicting the movement path to drop artillery. Just some strategies to keep in mind if you ever come across one outside the clicky game.

So, there ya go folks. Enjoy!