Giant Robots for the Vampires of the Gothic Frontier

Escaflowne: The Movie (2000) dir. Kazuki Akane

Whitehack 3e just dropped and it has all kinds of goodies to take advantage of for my futuristic gothic western campaign. One of the main things I want to get sorted is the titular Dragoon. These are terrible creations of the vampiric Nobles. Giant, bio-organic suits of armor powered by a mixture of occult magicks and inhuman sciences. They were lost long ago but around the time my campaign is taking place, they are slowly being unearthed and brought out of the murky depths of legend and myth.

Being made by the occult science of the Nobles, it would only make sense that these things are gnarly. Their armor is scales of bone and thick scabbed skin, their sensors are organic clusters of eyes or tongues that flick and taste the air, and their minds are full of sin and rage. To pilot one is to be pierced by organic tubes and feeders that latch onto your veins, bones, and mind. Rather than think of them as mere vehicles you pilot, they are better thought of as beasts fused with tier pilot and 'ridden' into battle.

Whitehack has something to say about using vehicles like mechas in your game:

"... allow each vehicle to have hit points, movement, AC, ST, and weaponry just like a character, and maybe also special attack or repair options."

 "The characters engaged in the battle are allowed control over one or several of these things each."

 "For some things, the characters' stats can be used."

To avoid weapon and damage bloat, I think I'm going to do two different scales of power. Only large monsters, other dragoons, powerful magicks, or sufficiently explosive weaponry can directly cause damage to dragoons. Everything else is just too insignificant to leave more than a scratch. Considering that the average human has 1 hit point, dragoon's deal their damage as normal. If I really want to go nuts, they can deal double damage to 'human scale" targets.

Escaflowne: The Movie (2000) dir. Kazuki Akane

Here's a sample Dragoon:

Sword of Sacrilage; HD 13 (45hp), AC 6, ST 18, MV 50/70; Special: "Gaze of the Inferno", "Bone Spikes"; Weaponry: Godvenom Claws (d6, magical weapons). Biobeam (1d6+1, Rng 100, RoF 1/2).

Bioweapon. Dragoons effectively become an extension of their pilot. Pilots use their own AV to attack and certain tasks use the pilot or Dragoon's stats as appropriate (i.e. lifting a giant boulder uses the Dragoon's Strength, the pilot's Dexterity determines how quickly they react, the Dragoon's MV is used, etc.). Pilots may use their slot and class abilities while in a Dragoon as well. 

E.g. a Strong pilot could cleave foes and a Deft duelist could claim double-positive rolls while facing another lone Dragoon.

Thirst. Dragoons feast on the blood and life of their pilot to fuel their potent abilities. Their keywords function similarly to the miracle wordings of Wise characters and they draw hit points to fuel them. 

Pilots may state their goal by using the keyword and work with the Referee to determine a hit point cost. Unlike the miracles of the Wise, pilots may use costs greater than their current hit points. Dragoons will happily drain their pilots of every drop of life and blood, leaving nothing behind.

E.g. The pilot of the Sword of Sacrilege wants to expel shards of bone all around itself to shred the foes surrounding it. The Referee thinks that "Bone Spikes" is a suitable wording here and assigns the cost of 2 hit points to the pilot. The foes get a save for half damage as the spikes shoot out with a screech!

Rage. Dragoons are machines of war and sin. Controlling their fury is no small task and a lapse of concentration can let the beast break a pilot's hold. 

Whenever you get in and activate a Dragoon, you must succeed in a contest using either Constitution (withstanding their abuse) or Wisdom (taming their fury) against the Dragoon. If the Dragoon has a powerful will, use its AV (10+HD). If it has a weaker will, use its ST for the contest. If either the Dragoon or pilot is reduced to 6 or fewer hit points, the pilot must test to maintain control as well.

On a success, it can be piloted as normal. On a failure, it goes berserk for d6 rounds! It attacks without care, picking the closest target (friend or foe) and using either its weapons or special keywords. It uses its own AV for attacks and is treated as a monster, but still uses the pilot's HP to power its special abilities!

Unique. Dragoons vary in size, shape, and general appearance. There is no "mass production" model. Each is a unique relic and the Referee is encouraged to make them stand out. Maybe some have multiple pilots. Maybe some can fuse. Maybe some are more insatiable with their Thirst. Go nuts and make some bio-mechanical nightmares!

The Vision of Escaflowne

I might add some suitable Special Combat Options to help hammer home that mecha feel. More to come as we continue to play!