I dig giant robots. We need more of them!

[Carl Gleba]

What about the avenger power armor in DB 3? Now as I recall that was a bad a** power armor!

Carl

[AzathothXy]

The Battleram is impressive. I could see arming zentraedi warriors with its rifle.

[Sureshot]

I would also like to see more giant robots. Though I ask that the weapons on the giant robots actually do more damage than a 1d6 x 10. I am using the Devastor which I find a little underpowered as an example.

[AzathothXy]

The robots from MiO were cool as well.
I beleive they were the Mikado, the Emperor and the Steel Dragon.
And of course the aforementioned devastator and the Tatsu from Japan.

[Carl Gleba]

Btw, Carl, thanks for putting Draygon Industries' space fighters into the Three Galaxies book. Not only do we need more giant robots, we need a huge variety of space fighters!

Glad you liked them.

Carl

[Crackpot Jones]

The Gremlin's army of gremlins will destroy them all.

Well, in that case, I think, maybe, just maybe, someone should develop the anti-gremlin spray armour coating.

[KLM]

Hi there!

Just for the munchkin type

The Iceman – Assault Robot

While the Promethean engineers did modify every equipment with phase fields, a true Promethean design is always superior. Beside the Star Ghost fighter, the Iceman is a deadly example of this.

It is an 8 meters tall humonoid robot vehicle, with a two men crew and devastating weaponry. As it is the case with the Star Ghost, the Iceman is also disturbing to behold. It seems to twist, shrunk and enlarge, scintillating like melting oily ice.. Or perhaps diamond.

It is designed for boarding and urban warfare in mind.

The two man crew is in the main body. The main weaponry (a twin PH-400 heavy phase beamer) is incorporated in the right forearm, while the weapon of choice against material targets is a heavy impulse lasercannon (identical to the lasers of the Star Ghost) is in the left one. The shoulders house 24 mini missiles each, the lower legs are equipped with automatic grenader launcher turrets (serving as smoke launchers, anti infantry and backup anti-missile defense). For point defense there are two CG guns in the head, which can rotate 360 degrees. The final addition is a ten feet phase sword.
As an afterthought two disposable medium range missile launcher can be attached to the back.

While this is impressive enough, but not outstanding, the vehicle is equipeed the phase generator of the Star Ghost, with all features, including the FTL capability – making it almost unique in its category.
Another uniqe feature is a shield built in the left forearm. It generates the rarely used „black screen” phase field, which is inpenetrateble – and unmovable. When engaged it cannot be moved, but the 4 meter diameter round field can be used again MD strikes, missiles (+3 to parry) and even against railguns or energy weapons (-2 to parry). Therefore one has to manouver the forearm into position, engage the field and after the attack, disengage (or stay where you are, because the shield is unmovable). This makes the lascannon unusable (it is in the same forearm) and takes away one charge from the generator, every melee it is uses (regardless of the actual time it is „on”).
It takes about ten hours of work for a skilled operator to reconfigure the robot for left handed users.


Crew:: 2 pilot and copilot/gunner
MDC:
*Twin PH-400 Phase beamer - 150 MDC
*Impulse laser - 150 MDC
Shoulder mini missile launchers (2) - 120 MDC; @
**Grenade launcher turrets, legs (2) - 150 MDC; @
**Head CG guns (2) - 100 MDC; @
*Sensor head - 200 MDC
Arms (2) - 300 MDC
Hands (2) - 150 MDC
Legs (2) - 400 MDC
Pilots compartment - 200 MDC
Main body - 800 MDC
Phase sword - 250 MDC
Medium range missile launchers (2) – 140 MDC@

* Small targets, -1 to hit on a called shot
** Tiny targets, -3 to hit on a called shot

Speed:
Running: 60 mph
Flying: up to 2 Mach, space 8 Mach, P-Drive: 1 ly per hour
Range: 2 weeks food, water and air for a two men crew, otherwise unlimited

Height: 8 m
Width: 3,6 m
Lenght: 2,1 m
PS: 45 robotic
Power: Anti-matter; 20 years
Price: 220 million Credits and up in Center.

Weapon Systems:
Phase Sword: 2D4x10 MD/SDC , +1 to strike and parry, melee weapon
Twin phase cannon: 8D6 MD in 9 meter radius, 2D6x10 MD against targets larger than 3 meters and force fields, range 1 mile, double that in space
Lascannon: 1D6x10+10 MD single shot, 3D6x10+30 MD triple burst, range: 1,5 mile , double that in space
Mini missile launcher: 24/ launcher, in salvos of one to twelve each, that is 24 for a double max salvo.
Grenade launchers: payload: 100, rate of fire 1, 5 or 10 per action, range 600 meters, about a mile in space.
Light GR cannons: 1D4x10 MD single burst, 2D4x10 MD double burst. (500 burst per gun, 500 double bursts or 1000 single bursts), range: about a mile, 3 miles in space
Medium range missile launchers: 4/launcher, 8 total.

Defense:
OP field, P-Field, phase teleport like the Star Ghost. „Black screen shield” 1 charge per melee.

Sensors: standard for robot vehicle and starfighters. In addition a phase scanner, with similar performance to the NE Enforcer gravitonic sensors, plus also detects OP objects.

Other: Hand to Hand like the UAR-1 Enforcer, with a +3 to dodge in flight, and Starfighter Combat Elite, but the pilot must learn both as a separate skill. Reduce bonuses and Nr of attack by two, if no gunner/copilot is aviable.

-------
Adios
KLM

[KLM]

Hi there!

FTL:
This thing is about 30 metric tons, whereas the Star Gost is 22,7 metric tons. It has room for a pilot and copilot, whereas the SG can carry 4
people. So, I guess it has enough room and weight for that FTL drive.

Adios
KLM

[KLM]

Hi there!

Yepp, more space and tonnage needed.

As for space, it is not that serious question for P-drives,
(as some of the components are not in our dimension)
as for tonnage, the Iceman is a great deal heavier, than
the starfighter.

Adios
KLM

[cornholioprime]

To quote Mega XL:
I DIG GIANT ROBOTS
YOU DIG GIANT ROBOTS
WE DIG GIANT ROBOTS
CHICKS DIG GIANT ROBOTS

You forgot the Last Word in the song......."Nice."

[TechnoGothic]

Rifts does seem to try to make Big Robots out to be Big Bad Threats.
But PA about 10 ft tall or so have equal the MDc, and usually more firepower to boot.

Double at least the MDC
Double or triple the MDC Damages it can dish out with the BIG toys they carry...

[Sir_Spirit]

What about Giant golems?
Like the collussus in FoM?

You could just say that you built Techno equivalent to all tho;se systems so that you effectively have a nonmagic equivalant to them.

Or the Battle Saint Orb(wormwood)?
Youcould jsut say it's a big robot, and change the "it onlyruns for 24 hour s" rule into it's powered by a nucleur reactora nd can run for 20 year without tiring.

[Esckey]

There was a PW tech book indevelopement if I remember correctly, which I probably don't, but it was split up and canned or something. Would be a fun idea, but I tend to make all of my alien weapons on the fly anyways.

[DhAkael]

Well, you've got the whole "Sentai" styled giant robots that could be done; like Voltron, Grandizer, Grand Manzaniger, etc...
But I'm suprised no one has mentioned the Guymelleths from 'Vision of Escaflowne'.
Those mehchs would be a cinch for any enterprisng GM to concot \ convert.

One thing I'd like to see in future Rifts books and possibly PhaseWorld source books; ILLUSTRATED mecha concepts, that have stats appropo to the setting.
Case in point; in the Gundam series (pick which true timeline or alternate universe you want), ONE blast from the Gundam's beam rifle can blow apart a small to mid sized cruiser! Conversely, the PA suits in Rifts (and the Rifts world books) tend to have MDC equal to their larger counterparts, if not greater, while their guns have equal damage potential and sometimes GREATER range than their giant sized versions.
Again showing us that KS really needs to try and ballance that realsim thang with game ballance...c'mon...nukes that only do 4D6X10 mdc with only 50ft. blast radius?!

[Sir_Spirit]

It is definitely a problem in Rifts that many thing are over powered while other aren't powerful enough. some of the magic O.C.C.'s (the tattooed man in particular) can take on a robot vehicle by themselves at high levels. I don't know about you but the last thing I would imagine taking down a 50ft. machine of death, with weapons that should be able to level a city block I might add, is some screaming guy in a loin cloth.

That's exactly what I would expect to take down a robot.
Especially if they happen to be screaming
"KAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Esckey]

nukes that only do 4D6X10 mdc with only 50ft. blast radius?!

Tactical Nuke

Guymelleths from 'Vision of Escaflowne'

Always wanted to do this but, would be hard to explain to PCs with out having to just say it's a TW device cause thats usually what it takes to shut them up

[DhAkael]

Conversely, the PA suits in Rifts (and the Rifts world books) tend to have MDC equal to their larger counterparts, if not greater, while their guns have equal damage potential and sometimes GREATER range than their giant sized versions.

Also, remember that MDC is more than a measure of armor. It's a measure of breakability. Giant robots have greater/more frame stresses and break points than, say, tanks or space fighters, which explains why the MDC of giant robots tends to be less than that of comparable space fighters and tanks.

Forgot that point. Okay that does make logical sense.
I still say the disparity in damage ratings based on size for weapons is still kinda agravating though (read my post on hypertechnology Vs. brute force). I think armour piercing ammo rules Vs. MDC objects should be published \ posted at some point. Make it a way to really make things challanging for the players, aside from just bashing away mdc point, have it one well placed shot could punch strait through into, say the primary heat exchanger. Better yet, the pilot (it's called spalling; it's what really kills the crew in naval vessels and tanks).

[DhAkael]

Okay, I know it's a game system sorta left in limbo, but hear me out.
Mekton Zeta (published by R. Talsorian games) and it's tech manual Mekton Zeta plus, had a great system for designing mecha of all sorts (including Sentai / superheroic) and even their weaponry. The number crunching needed to create these mechs was a bit time consuming and tedius though, plus such things as range, ROF for weapons, and damage capacity were a bit arbitrary.
However, an enterprising GM could use the materials given in those books (if you can find them, that is) to create their mecha, and work out some sort of conversion system to deal with the points-to-mdc (or sdc). Plus the weapon damage when converted tends to be more in keeping with something of that scale (1 point= 25 MDC makes for some weapons that do nearly 1D4X100 per hit in the upper ranges).

And oh yeah, for those of you familliar with Konami games (vid games now) and 'From Software', 'Zone of the Enders' and the Armored Core series of games have a plethora of mecha concepts for the enterprisng GM to use for inspiration.

[Sentinel]

Another big problem is the lack of variety when it comes to power armors, robots, etc. I believe it mentions that there are at least hundreds of technologicaly advanced races in the three galaxies and I find it hard to believe they don't make any vehicles for themselves. Palladium should just make a HUGE book called "the big book of vehicles" and put as many robots, PA's, star fighters, etc. in it.

End of rant.

Maybe Palladium could put out a book with absolutely no overwhelming Mega-plot and leave more pages for just such a thing.
A compendium of giant robots and vehicles.

[Sentinel]

I want cool looking 'bots like MazinKaiser, Getta Robo, and DanGaio.
150' tall, piloted by cocky 18 year old kids (or Phaeton Juicers, or In'Valian jockeys). With Huge Swords.

[Carl Gleba]

I want cool looking 'bots like MazinKaiser, Getta Robo, and DanGaio.
150' tall, piloted by cocky 18 year old kids (or Phaeton Juicers, or In'Valian jockeys). With Huge Swords.

Then go play Super Robot Wars.

EDIT:
Ahem. I'm actually just trying to concentrate on the Three Galaxies, and I don't see Super Robots fitting in very well. Robots that blurr the line between Real and Super could exist in the UWW, but true Super Robots would require their own dimension book, methinks... as well as a license from Bandai.

Sounds like Transformers They rule.

The Battleram is a cool bot. It would be hard to come up with something to rival it. I guess I'll have to try

Carl

[Sentinel]

If you had grown up as I did, in Hawaii in the mid and late '70s, you'd be joaning for some Brave Raideen.

The early '80s were the years for giant Japanese Robots...

And then I found Gundam...sigh.