Untested War Machines - House Rules & Pilots

I have discovered MAC Attack and am infatuated. It's a sleek mecha game in the spirit of BattleTech, efficient in its rules yet tactically and strategically complex. Genius in its simplicity.

So of course I'm going to pile a bunch of shit on top of it. 

The following aims to turn a 1v1 wargame into an RPG where several players each pilot a single mech, command auxiliaries, and manage their finances.

Part 1: House Rules & Pilots
Part 2: Starting Gear & Upkeep
Part 3: Mercenaries & Retainers

General House Rules

The first 2 come from the full PDF - the adjusted rules are reproduced here. The last 2 are my inventions. Inches have been converted into hexes.

Double Modules

MACs may insert 2 of the same kind of module into 1 slot. When a double module is damaged, treat 1 of these versions as being destroyed. A double weapon in module 1 treats both weapons as the main gun. Double expendable weapons can be fired a 2nd time only if they are undamaged.

Ejection

A pilot may eject from their MAC during the meltdown phase. If the MAC is about to be destroyed, they must first pass a system check (roll a # of dice equal to class, passing if any show 5+). If a MAC is destroyed outside of the meltdown phase or its Heat is 6 when it is destroyed, the pilot cannot eject and dies in the cockpit.

Ejected pilots land as an unarmed infantry AU d6 hexes away in a random direction. They cannot brawl. If they touch a friendly AU they may join with them, but they die if that unit is destroyed unless they roll a 4+ on a d6.

Up-Armored

PCs may elect to pilot a Class "1.3" or "2.3" MAC . They have 3 structure points, roll 3 dice for systems checks, and cost as much as a Class 3 MAC . In all other regards, they count as either Class 1 or 2.

Tactical Infinity

Players may propose novel movement or attacks, outside the scope of the MAC Attack rules. If the action is risky or the result uncertain, the player must roll a d12 under their relevant pilot score to succeed. Here are some examples.

Move - I pick up a section of the broken freeway and set it up as a barricade.

Move - As I move past I break the water tower, dousing the flames beneath.

Attack - I shoot the rock formation, collapsing it onto the MAC in this adjacent hex.

Attack - I shoot the unstable ground beneath the enemy's foot. Instead of damage, they must pass a system check or crash.

Attack - I rip the enemy's melee weapon out of their hands.

You can target specific modules by brawling, but not by shooting.

Pilots

Pilots have 5 stats - roll 1d6+3 for each. If you're playing in my game, use the variant rules below.

Stat	In Mech Use	Out of Mech Use
Agility	Kinesthetics, Broad Movement	Acrobatics, Melee
Precision	Aiming, Subtle Movement	Manual Dexterity
Reflex	Dodging, Held Actions	Reaction, Perception
Analysis	Sensors, E-Warfare	Deduction, Engineering
Grit	Endurance, G-Tolerance	Strength, Willpower

Advancement

At the beginning of downtime, make a skill check for each stat you failed a roll for. If you fail again, increase the stat by 1 (to a max of 11) - hard experience has taught you something.

My take on adapting pilots from Armored Core 6.

Variant Pilot Creation

MACs are piloted via inputs physical (buttons, throttles, joysticks) and neurological (neurohelm or nervejack). Using the latter effectively requires augmentation surgery. This procedure has a long history and many iterations. 

1st, 2nd, 5th, & 6th generation surgery is no longer practiced - the low survival rates don't justify the reduced costs. Such pilots are survivors of the original experiments. Most have spent decades in cryosleep.

Unaugmented pilot can't raise their stats over 10. Unlike augmented pilots, they require 1 week of training each to use new weapons & modules. Until then neuro-interference causes disadvantage on all MAC ability checks. Keep a record of the gear your pilot has learned to use.

Roll	Generation	Agility	Precision	Reflex	Analysis	Grit	Objective Age
1	None	3+1d4	3+1d4	3+1d4	4+1d4	6+1d4	Roll Again
2	1st	3+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	5+1d4	d10+125
3	2nd	3+1d6	4+1d4	4+1d4	2+1d6	4+1d6	d20+110
4-5	3rd	4+1d4	4+1d6	3+1d6	2+1d6	4+1d4	d120
6-8	4th	4+1d6	4+1d4	4+1d6	2+1d6	3+1d6	d100
9	5th	4+1d6	3+1d6	3+1d6	4+1d4	2+1d4	d6+55
10	6th	4+1d4	4+1d6	3+1d6	4+1d4	2+1d4	d6+50
11-12	7th	5+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	3+1d6	d50
13-15	8th	5+1d4	4+1d4	5+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	d40
16-18	9th	4+1d4	5+1d4	5+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	d20
19-20	10th	5+1d4	5+1d4	5+1d4	4+1d4	4+1d4	d6

If your stats sum under 33, you may add 1 point to any stat and 1d4 to your subjective age (this starts at 17+d20). Write a sentence on your character sheet about the conflict that educated you. You can add points until your subjective age equals your objective age. Your stats can't increase above 9 this way.

Side Effects

All generations are capable of producing side effect free pilots - PCs are assumed to be from this fortunate minority. NPC pilots are known for the following maladies.

1st to 4th gen pilots are known for losses of humanity. Symptoms include muteness, monomania, hearing static, hearing voices, longevity, overwhelming paranoia, & unrelenting bloodlust. Pilots are often left unable to feel one or more of the following emotions: anger, compassion, desire, disgust, excitement, fear, guilt, happiness, interest or sadness. In extreme cases pilots are nearly catatonic - they are capable of piloting their mech and little else. 

5th & 6th gen pilots are known for grisly deformities. Pick one or more stats - the pilot has disadvantage on all rolls outside of their mech.

7th to 10th gen pilots are mostly side effect free. Their odious personalities are usually their own doing.

Call Signs

Amongst the Raven Mercenary Company*, pilots are assigned temporary callsigns from the military alphabet by order of seniority. After a pilot survives 3 missions, a permanent callsign is assigned by the other pilots (usually while drunk) via US Air Force rules:

The Three Rules of Callsigns

1. If you don't already have one, you will be assigned one by your "buddies".
2. You probably won't like it.
3. If you complain and moan too much about 1 and 2, you'll get a new nickname you'll like even less!

Check out the website for a hearty mix of humor and toxic masculinity. Here are a few illustrative examples:

TREAD - Last name Saufley.
FISH - Drank a lot.
ELSA - Despite warnings, fell into a frozen lake.
IMAX - Pilot with a massive forehead.
ZEUS - Stands for Zero Effort Unless Supervised.

* This name is a placeholder until the players name themselves.