As I am Lord and Supreme Ruler of After Colony, these rules are subject to change, revampment, deletion, and other miscellaneous overhauls as I incorporate more realism, add more depth, attempt to balance the game, or have enlightening hallucinations. You will be informed of changes as they come.
Premise
Characters
Mecha
Player/MS Interaction
Purchasing Items
Combat -- Combat Actions -- Space Combat
MS-Equip System
Skills
Dying
Section 1: Premise
The story of the Gundam Wing TV series and this game revolves around control of space colonies. Earth's nations have built several colonies that orbit Earth. The Alliance Military controls them by force. The group known as OZ manipulates the Earth Alliance Military to do so. Some colonies, tired of opression, build and send down to Earth five advanced suits to strike out at OZ - The Gundams.
For game purposes, the Battle of Libra never happened. Libra is intact, somewhere out in space. And here is where we pick up. The Gundam pilots are lying low and the war is just heating up.
Section 2: Characters
Just like every other RPG, personas will be created for each player prior to starting the game.
Vital statistics will be decided by a die roll, which include: HP, Attack, Endurance, Agility, Intelligence, and Essence.
Players will choose a hand-to-hand weapon for the character to use, should they ever be caught outside their Mobile Suit (MS).
Characters will then recieve 10,000 credits, one Scrap Metal, and their choice of either 1,500 extra credits or a randomly chosen special item.
Lastly, the character will recieve their very first Mobile Suit, the CMS-01 Roadrunner. Useless in combat, but twice as fast as any suit available today, it will be your Taxi until you get a real MS.
Section 3: The Big Giant Robots
Wars are now fought not on foot, but in big humanoid exoskeletons called Mobile Suits. Standard OZ MS can be bought, as can Gundams. Keep in mind that Gundams are much more expensive to purchase and maintain. OZ MS are mass-produced, but Gundams are made one at a time. If a pilot buys one, a new one must be built. Thus, once a Gundam is bought, it will be some time before another of the same type can be purchased.
MS are bought without weapons. To start, all Suits have only fists and feet. A MS' Punch does 1D4-1 % damage and Kicks do 1D4 % damage. Repeated use will result in damage to the limb used. Weapons are bought separately and equipped on the Mobile Suit. See the Weapons section for your current selection of things to blow stuff up with.
A character's life is measured in Hit Points, but MS' life is measured in Percentages. Weapons will cause a certain Percent damage to the target suit. Suits will vary in their maximum life %.
In addition to taking Percent damage, eventually pilots will get good enough to take out entire limbs of your suit in one attack. If that happens, you must repair your suit at the Hangar after battle. When a limb is destroyed, Weapons and other accessories attached go with it. Unsecured equipment will go flying. You may retrieve your lost item if you so choose by moving over to it and picking it up, or you can leave it and make do with what you have left. But don't forget about it - your enemy might pick up your weapon and use it against you. If you win the battle, dropped equipment is picked up automatically. If you run, that's different. MS equipment is discussed more later.
Each MS has five statistics - Attack, Armor, Speed, Weapons, and Evade. They are self-explanatory. A player without MS-stat-boosting skills will only benefit from 1/2 the value shown on the MS pages (rounding varies from situation to situation).
A MS is an absolute necessity. A character without one is a sitting duck for an ambush and almost useless in an attack.
Section 4: Player/MS interaction
In case you don't know, MS are huge. Characters must be able to get into the cockpit (usually in the chest or stomach area, way up there), get out to the ground without falling to their death, and also conceal their suits when the time comes. Non-player characters (NPC's) can attempt to steal suits left sitting out in the open, should they be bold enough to try. OZ soldiers can ID a suit and destroy it with ease if they find it belongs to the enemy. Some places dislike such tools of destruction, and you sometimes you have to go such places. Sometimes you may need to take your suit to space on a shuttle, or travel long distances. Be aware, and be realistic.
Section 5: Purchasing Stuff
Purshases are simple: find a store in the city you are in that sells whatever item you may be looking for, or; find a hangar that sells MS, rents Gundams, and sells other miscellaneous MS paraphenalia. You may also purchase items through this site. If you see something you need or want, Email the General. Tell him what you want to buy in an email as if you were making out an order form, and he'll make the necessary changes on your character pages/sheets. If you want to sell, tell him what you are selling and the condition it is in so he can appraise it.
Characters can only hold so much. To begin, characters can hold five different items. MS and MS equipment are not held by the characters (it would be hard to fit in their pockets). A character can get carrying apparatai to increase space such as backpacks, suitcases, or even wheelbarrows, if that floats your boat.
Section 6: Combat
Since you are in the middle of a war, combat is quite important. The vast majority of combat will be fought with MS.
The GM will inform you about when you are about to enter combat. Make sure you are vigilant and prepared, as an OZ ambush may occur at any time. You will be informed what suits you are facing and how many opponents there are. From time to time, you will not be familiar with your opponent and information will not be given by the GM.
In the beginning, a Pilot is going solo in battle unless he or she teams up with other Pilots. Later, once cash is no object, a pilot may buy extra MS. Your support suits can accompany you into battle. They are at your command, though you pilot only your own suit. Keep in mind that the more suits you have, the more complicated it gets. (I may put a limit on the number of support suits you may bring along later)
Combat is fought on a grid. Some kind of marker will designate you and your support suits (glass beads, dice, the heads off of my models, etc.). Characters will usually have their starting MS positions set by the GM as the story dictates. There will almost always be landscape and buildings around when battle is on Earth. Space battle is discussed later.
Here's the slightly complicated part. Turns are taken both simultaneously and one by one. Each player has a number of options available every turn - Run, Attack, Move, Use Item, Ascend, or special actions. Players choose their action in secret from other players by writing it on a slip of paper. Once all players have chosen actions, their papers are given to me and actions are carried out in Speed order (fastest suits first, slowest suits last). The point of this is to have you anticipate what your opponent will do, just like if you were in real life. Summary thus far:
1. Think about what your opponent might do;
2. Write down what you are going to do;
3. Hope you chose correctly
Now, to describe each type of action. Lets do the easiest first.
---Section 6A: Moving
A stationary target isn't much of an opponent. Enemy suits can blast you into oblivion while you stand and let it happen. That's why you have legs. Each turn, suits may choose to move around the area.
Suits can move from one space/inch to eight spaces/inches at one time, depending on the type of engines you have. Players choose a direction (North, South, East, West, Northwest, etc.), and a number of spaces to move, up to your maximum. A compass rose will be provided. When your turn comes around, your marker moves. Not hard to understand. Most MS run or walk until better engines are bought. The landscape may be a problem for most suits. Unstable sand or troublesome rock formations can hinder movement.
---Section 6B: Ascent/Descent
A variation on move, ascending is obviously moving upward. Suits with adequate engines may scale buildings or other obstacles that normally cannot be moved onto. There are four types of Ascent: Climb, Jump, Leap, and Overboost. Each allows you to reach greater heights in one turn. Some suits have Fly, which means they can rise to any elevation without something to stand on. Descent is coming down from heights. Just jumping off a building will damage your suit. There are ways to prevent this damage.
---Section 6C: Escape
Escape can be considered a type of move. Choosing Escape makes your character attempt to exit battle. Enemy suits will pursue you, unless Officers give a command to cease pursuit or Player opponents choose to let you go. To escape, you roll your Speed value. Pursuers roll their speed values. If one of them beats you, you fail to escape. There are special methods of escape.
---Section 6D: Use Item
Pilots can use certain items to aid them while inside their suit. Sometimes we have to forego reality when thinking about the Pilot using the items on his or her suit. For example, the item Scrap Metal will restore some of the suit's life %. The pilot doesn't actually get out and bolt the metal on, however. Usually, Metal items will be the only item you use on your suit. There are other circumstances where other items can be used, though.
---Section 6E: Attack
It's how you win. By destroying your enemies or crippling them and making them submit, battles are won. To do so, you must bash them up real good with your weapons.
If you don't have weapons, you simply smack enemies with your fists and feet if they are real close to you. Not a good situation to be in. But, if you do have weapons...
...a whole world of new opportunities opens up. Close combat weapons like Beam Swords and Claws are useful when the opponent has approached you. Long range weapons like Beam Cannons and Machine Guns can decimate your opponent from afar.
To attack you must:
1. Evaluate the distance from your target;
2. Think about which weapons will work from such a distance;
3. Choose one;
4. Choose an attack using that weapon;
5. Choose a direction to attack in;
6. Hope you chose correctly
Close combat weapons usually only have a range of one to three spaces/inches out from your suit. Projectile weapons shoot shells or blasts and they go as far as they can until they leave the area or hit something. Attack direction is VERY important. Do ALL YOU CAN TO AVOID MAKING A MISTAKE. Not too often will I let you change direction after turning your paper in because you "thought you were facing the other direction," or, "didn't see that big rock in the way." But we are humans, so we do make mistakes. In some cases, I will let mistakes slide. I did it myself once. We actually had a big argument about it. Good times.
There is a special kind of combination attack available to you. If you have an upgraded engine, you already know that you can move UP TO your maximum. If you choose not to, however, you may combine Move with Attack. Each weapons' attacks have a level. The better the attack, the higher the level. If you move less than your maximum move, you may use an attack up to the level equaling the remaining spaces you didn't move. For example, a suit that could move six moves two. That suit can combo with attacks up to level 4.
---Section 6F: Special actions
This includes everything from opening up doors in the environment to picking up people off the ground. Ask me about any action that isn't too far-fetched. I might allow it. It all depends on what you want to do.
*****Space Combat*****
Once you gain access to space, battle changes. Suits become weightless, and thus harder to control. When moving, suits Move +D10. Better engines can reduce the loss of control. Some suits have built-in mechanisms that eliminate extra drift. Explosions push you +D3. Knockback and Recoil are +D3 as well.
Suits may ascend, descend and hover at any elevation level with any type of engine.
Space cruisers are much more practical in space. Some ships may get in your way. If you don't mind innocent deaths, ignore them and whatever happens to them. Even take them out if they are a bother. If you do care, do all you can to avoid striking them. Larger Battleships may hover out of range and blast at whoever is their enemy. Blasts and shells headed in their direction will connect with them and eventually they too will be destroyed. Even larger Space Stations like Libra and the late Barge can fire their death star-esqe supercannons. Watch out for those.
Section 7: MS-Equip
Once weapons are bought for your suit, you need only tell me that you are equipping them and they are ready for use. Suits can carry one weapon or shield in each hand. Larger weapons might fill both hands. Loadout of other equipment can be figured out by you and the GM by considering size, placement, etc. You may put down a handheld weapon at any time. Why? A few reasons: To make your suit lighter, to pick up something else if you lost your other arm, or if the weapon is simply useless (ran out of ammo or energy).
At first, the variety one weapon gives you isn't too great. By destroying enemy suits, you can gain Shrapnel. Shrapnel are used specifically for upgrading your weapons. Once a certain number of shrapnel is grafted onto a weapon, a new attack becomes available to you. Most weapons have two or three attacks, one available from the time of purchase. Using shrapnel is irreversible and if you sell your weapon, you may not retrieve the shrapnel used on it. You may choose to use all your shrapnel on one weapon to max out its usefulness while leaving the rest of your armament is lacking in power, or spread it around.
Damage for weapons' attacks is usually based on the MS' statistics. You might see Att+1 for damage. This means that damage equals the Suit's attack value plus one.
Some MS equipment you buy is not intended for attacking. These are called Support Systems. You can find them on the Weapons page. These systems vary in placement and effect.
Section 8: Piloting Ability
Characters start out not knowing a whole lot of the fancy tricks veterans do about piloting. This can change, however, once players learn Pilot Skills. These skills enhance piloting ability and suit performance. Skills are explained on the Pilot Skill page.
Section 9: Life and Death
Death. It happens. When a character's HP hits zero, then Mr. Reaper has a new friend. Should a character's MS be destroyed while they are in it, they blow up with it. Players may then start afresh, unless somebody is nice enough to use some incantation or item to raise them from the dead. Should a player decide to start anew and later a living character wants to raise the dead player, it's too late. As soon as a new character sheet is made, then theoretically the soul passes on.
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