Sunday, August 14, 2022

Red Colossus Inter-Continental Ballistic Mech, Giant Atomic Robot

It's a giant flying atomic war robot from another dimension.  And now it's your heroes' problem.  And everyone else's, really.

"Red Colossus" ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Mech)

In some alternate timeline the Cold War went hot in 1957, with the Soviets launching hundreds of giant nuclear-powered mecha across the North Pole in an attempt to knock the United States' own strategic automatons out while they were still in their launch silos.  The strike failed when it ran head first into the secretly-developed katatron warp generators of the Canadian Directed Energy Weapon Line, with 99% of the Russian machines unceremoniously hurled out of spacetime and into oblivion.  

Unfortunately for [your campaign setting] one of the "Red Colossus" ICBMs wound up in the next dimension over, landing near [campaign city] and preparing to carry out its program of strategic destruction.  The mega-mech has been confused by the fact that its primary targets aren't where they should be and none of of its map data matches its surroundings, but it won't be too long until it gets its act together and decides to just start burning the US grid sector by grid sector.  

Description: A ten-story tall humanoid war machine, glowing with blue-white radiation and plated with dull gray armor.  Its legs and forearms are enormous nuclear jets, and its chest armor displays the Soviet hammer & sickle logo, somewhat scorched by the heat of atmospheric re-entry. 

Gender: None            Age: Time Displaced From Alternate 1957       Height: 110'

Optic Sensors Glowing Orange           Skin: Armor Plate                 Built:  Moscow Mechworks 

Approach: Bully                  

Archetype: Titan (Status Challenge: Access Reactors 00 Activate Dampeners 0)

Health: 55 + (5 x H)

Powers: Nuclear d10, Flight d8, Strength d8                                     

Qualities: Close Combat d8, Giant Atomic Robot d8, Ranged Combat d8                                     

Status: Titan Challenge Start - d12 / Stage 1 Completed - d10 / Stage 2 Completed - d8

Abilities:

Atomic Giant (I) Whenever you or your nearby allies Hinder, increase the penalty created by 1.

Superheavy Armor Plates (I) Reduce damage dealt to you by 2.

Radiation Surge (R) When a hero takes a minor twist in the Titan's challenge, in addition to the chosen twist, roll your status die and deal that much damage to that hero.

Layered Reactor Shielding (I) Reduce all damage you take by 6 (at d12 status), 4 (at d10 status), or 2 (at d8 or less status).

Nuclear Strike (A) Attack multiple targets using Nuclear.  Hinder those targets with your Min die.

Upgrades & Masteries (optional):

Mook Squad +0 Health.  Gain Offload Troops (A) Replenish your Mechanoid minions up to the number of heroes in the scene.

Master of Annihilation (I) If you can cause massive collateral damage without regard for casualties, automatically succeed at an Overcome in a situation where a show of overwhelming force would help.

Tactics

A "Red Colossus" ICBM is relative primitive robotic war machine that relies on its huge size, incredibly heavy armor, lethal radioactivity, and brood of supporting Mechanoid troopers to deal with opposition while it hunts for a suitable strategic target.  Superheavy Armor and Layered Reactor Shielding make it extremely difficult to damage, Radiation Surge and Atomic Giant make it hard to interfere with its integral reactors, and Nuclear Strike lets it pour on the indiscriminate destruction.  

With its upgrade it still has a supply of extra Mechanoids ready to deploy, and is more efficient at exploiting its overwhelming might to reach worthwhile objectives.

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Soviet Mechanoid d8 minion

Description: Clunky-looking 10' tall humanoid robots with machine guns, flamethrowers, and automatic cannons for arms.  Slow and clumsy but tough.

Sturdy: When you make a save against damage, add +2 to the result of the roll.

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City In Peril Environment 

Represents any generic urban area that's under attack from big, destructive threats like rampaging giant robots, kaiju, bombardment by massed artillery, or death ray attacks from orbiting alien spaceships.

Crumbling Architecture d8, Dangerous Infrastructure d8, Screaming Crowds d10

Green Zone

(Minor Twists)

Blinding Smoke: Roll the environment dice.  Hinder all targets with the Min die.

Falling Debris: Roll the environment dice.  Attack all targets with the Min die.

Trapped Civilian: Roll the environment dice.  Start challenge.  Rescue Citizen: 0  Hinder all heroes with the value of the Min die until this challenge is completed.

(Major Twist)

Leaking Gas Lines: Start challenge.  Prevent Explosion: 0  Timer: 0  Triggered: Advance the scene tracker by one. 

Yellow Zone

(Minor Twists)

Buried Under the Rubble: Roll the environment dice.  Hinder one hero with the Mid die, and Attack that hero with the Min die.

Broken Power Line: Roll the environment dice.  Attack one hero with the Max die.

Police Assistance: Roll the environment dice.  Boost two heroes with the Mid die.

(Major Twist)

Panicking Crowd: Roll the environment dice.  Start multi-stage challenge.  Calm Civilians 0  Evacuate Civilians 00  Heroes cannot Overcome the second stage on the same round that the first stage is completed.  Hinder all heroes with the value of the Mid die until this challenge is completed. 

Red Zone

(Minor Twists)

Just Keeps Getting Worse: Trigger three different minor twists from the Green or Yellow zones.

Raging Fires: Roll the environment dice.  Hinder all targets using the Mid die.  Attack all targets using the Min die.

(Major Twist)

Collapsing Buildings: Roll the environment dice.  Start timed challenge.  Avoid Collapse 0 Timer 0  Each hero must Overcome this challenge individually.  Triggered: Each hero that failed to complete this challenge is Attacked with the Max + Min dice, and all minions and lieutenants are removed from the scene.

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Design Notes:

A scene with an ICBM will usually include some Mechanoid minions, a suitable environment and perhaps a Doomsday Device challenge if the mecha decides it's found a target important enough to justify detonating its reactor core.  If not, it can just be a more straightforward but still high stakes giant monster fight.  The thing's about as tough as it gets but its damage output is fairly tame (at least once you get its status die reduced) so the heroes should be able to weather its multi-target attacks for a while.  Note that it's very indiscriminate when it uses Nuclear Strike, which you can demonstrate by having it melt its own minions now and then.

If you do decide to use the Doomsday Device option, I'd count completing the challenge as defeating the ICBM as well.  You'd have to shut down, disable, or outright remove its reactor to eliminate the threat, which should shut it down too.  You could even combine the Titan challenge and the Doomsday challenge together, adding a few more required successes but having them all count together.

You could also do something completely different, perhaps with the ICBM having been taken over by a tech villain, or super-soldiers from its home timeline showing up to recover it or destroy it for good, or maybe it crashes in our reality close to some kaiju lair and the players wind up having to intervene in the ensuing kaiju-versus-giant-robot brawl.


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