LAMtech rules

  1. Use Battletech rules as a base. This system is not for people who hate the energy management of SFB.

  2. No heat. Running, jumping, firing weapons -- there is no heat.

  3. PPCs do damage 8; large lasers, 6; medium lasers, 4.

  4. Definitions: N = mech's mass.

  5. Movement and energy weapons draw upon the reactor's power. The reactor generates (energy rating + 150) in power (called P).

  6. A mech moving 1 hex costs N P, regardless if it walks or runs.

  7. Walking speed is determined as per core rules: engine rating (not P) divided by N, round down.

  8. Run constraints: assault mechs cannot run.

  9. LAM gear costs 10% N, and requires 5 crits of transformation gear, distributed 1 each in each leg and all three torsos. Only light and medium mechs can be LAMs. Also, LAM gear automatically gives you unlimited jump jet range.

  10. Jump jets tap the reactor for power. Adding jump jet crits to a mech means that it's capable of moving, but you still need power. Just as in core rules, the number of jump jets a mech has is the upper limit on how many hexes it can jump. Jumping costs 150 P and then resolve as if walking. So, a 45-ton mech jumping takes 150 P to start jumping and then requires 45 P to jump each hex; max number of hexes it can move is constrained by the number of jump jets it has. LAMs are only limited by reactor power.

  11. Examples:

    Classic Rules       LAMtech Rules
    N   Speed   Engine rating   P Max speed   P requirement for maxspeed   P leftover after maxspeed
    35 6/9 210 360 10 350 10
    40 5/8 200 350 8 320 30
    50 5/8 250 400 8 400 0
    60 4/6 240 390 6 360 30
    75 4/6 300 450 6 450 0
    80 4/6 320 470 4 320 150
    100 3/5 300 450 3 300 150

  12. Energy weapons use P. Ballistic and missile systems do not.

    Laser type     P usage/round
    Small 10
    Medium 20
    Large 40
    PPC 50

  13. All weapons can be made in a detachable manner, usable by mechs with hands. LAMs have hardpoints where weapons can be quicksnapped in/out of, although generally this is only for non-missile systems due to streamline issues.

  14. Wings are equivalent to rear R/L torso armor. Wings are functional until shot off. So a wing with 1 point of armor is still good to go -- full of holes, granted, but still usable. At 0, it's toast.

  15. LAM Transformation: there are 3 modes: Plane, Guardian (half-half), and Battloid (Mech). Each transition costs 1/2 P. You may not fire any weapons during a round which you spent transforming.

  16. Guardian mode: LAMs are at +2 to hit (more compact target area), fire at +2 (harder to control weapons), cannot torso twist, and cannot walk/run. Jumping in Guardian mode still costs a minimum of 150 P, but that 150 can be spent on movement (you get to glide in Guardian mode). So jumping 1 hex in Guardian mode still costs 150 P, or for the same 150, you could jump/glide div(150, N) hexes.

  17. LAM disengagement: LAMs may elect to disengage from a battle by flying away. There are two ways to do this, all of which take at least 2 rounds. One option is to spend the first round transforming into Plane mode on the ground; second round, take off. Another is to Boost: spend 1/2 P to transform to Guardian mode and spend the other 1/2 P on vertical movement; the next round, spend 1/2 P to finish transforming to Plane mode and spend the other 1/2 P on flying away.

  18. Speed ranges:

      Battloid   Guardian   Plane
    Min 0 0 (hover) 2x run speed
    Max Run speed 3x run speed 10x run speed

  19. Example mechs.