One of our design goals in MechaStellar is being able to pit your favorite mecha (and monsters) against one another. More importantly, we want you to have a chance to reenact your favorite scene from a series with the same or different outcome.
With the release of our units from Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV) we thought it might be fun to take a look at one of the scenes iconic sequences and then describe that using MechaStellar game mechanics. We’ll be looking at the first time Evangelion Unit 01 goes berserk when it was sent to stop the 3rd Angel Sachiel.
Warning: If you haven’t seen Evangelion before it can be quite brutal at times.
We start with Sachiel doing significant damage to Unit 01. Then it reactivates, in game terms Unit 01 goes Berserk when it is at 50% or less HP. When that happens it gains Melee+2d10 and +5 Momentum.
The Eva then does gigantic leap and lands on top of the Angel. They struggle for a bit before it breaks free. The gigantic leap can be seen as a High Speed Attack where you get +2d10 Melee Attack if you use Full Throttle then make a melee attack with a generic close combat weapon like fists or a kick. After Melee combat the victor may decide to break away and move outside engagement range, same for a draw where both sides have equal Melee successes.
Next up we see Unit 01 try to charge Sachiel again but hits the AT Field. In game terms the Angels have an AT Field special trait that gives them +2 Melee Blocks and Block 2 Shots, same as a Super Shield type equipment. We see Unit 01 tear through the field, this is represented on Unit 01’s sheet on AT Field neutralize. Once per round it can roll 3d10, every 5+ lowers the targets barrier by 1 block. Since the Angel has 2 Blocks (melee or ranged essentially) each 5+ lowers it by one. Eva Unit 01 can also burn off a Focus action (instead of using it normally) for another -1 Block.
We also see Unit 01 regenerate its formerly broken arm prior to ripping through the AT Field. This can be represented on the tabletop with the “It Regenerated?!” command.
We see Sachiel use a Cross Explosion directly on Eva Unit 01 as it’s tearing through the AT Field. Using a ranged weapon in melee typically requires the “Take the Shot” skill which costs 1 Momentum. Additionally, Sachiel doesn’t have enough power to use Cross Explosion and so would need to rely on the “All-Out Attack” command that gives 10 temporary power. After using though there is a chance that unit will shutdown, typically representing a Mech overheating but in this case the Angel exhaust its energy reserves so to speak. As a result it skips its next turn and its opponent gains tactical advantage (+2d10 Melee and/or +2 Shot at range).
After surviving the shot Unit 01 graps and tears off Sachiel’s arms. This would fall under the “Rip & Tear” melee weapon. After a melee victory the attacker can choose to disengage, additionally in the “Defend the City” game mode you may push the enemy after a melee victory and deal bonus damage if they hit a building.
Unit 01 then goes again, since Sachiel would have been shutdown on its turn. It then tackles Sachiel again at a dead sprint. Once again we’d be using the high speed attack on a generic close combat melee weapon. Unit 01 has 8d10 Melee normally, plus 2d10 from Berserk and another 2d10 from High Speed attack, that’s quite the die pool!
Once again Unit 01 goes, in this case we’ll assume it was a new round and Unit 01 won the initiative roll off. It rather violently begins to crack open the Angel’s core, this would be the Rip & Tear melee weapon used quite brutally. This continues until the Angel uses the Command “Self Destruct.”
And there we have it, depending on the rolls you could reenact this exact scene if you were to pit Unit 01 and Sachiel against each other. Or the dice rolls might be in your favor and you destroy the angel even sooner, or perhaps in a different timeline Unit 01 doesn’t survive the Cross Explosion or the the Self-Destruct.
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