MechaStellar VER10 Gameplay Example – Setup & Round 1

Here we have a gameplay example for MechaStellar VER10 using 1/144 scale Gundam figure. On one side we have Kamille’s Zeta Gundam and Kai’s Guncannon, on the other we have the unlikely teamup of Garrod’s Gundam X and Norris Packard Gouf Custom. Read on below the break for the game narrative, setup and Round 1.

Narrative

This is an alternate universe where the events of Gundam’s Universal Century and the After War era have fused together. The Zeta Gundam was completed early and Kamille took it to bust Kai and Reccoa out of the jail in Jaburo, the former Federation headquarters that the Titans had trapped to self-destruct. Kai and Reccoa managed to grab a Guncannon in retrofit among the other ancient MSX and MSV mobile suits lying around.

Meanwhile, an unlikely alliance between Garrod Ran and Norris Packard has formed. The two agreed to work together after Tiffa Adil and Aina Sahalin have been captured and held by the Titans.  As they were storming Jaburo they were given reports of a new Gundam being used by the Titans.

When the two teams encountered each other they began fighting in the confusion, with Garrod and Norris suspecting that the Zeta Gundam was the new prototype Gundam the Titans were using, while Kai seeing a Gouf still bearing Zeon’s marking suspected an attack by remnants.

A battle of misunderstandings in 5 rounds.

Setup & Deployment

MechaStellar recommends a table length that is at least 4-6 times the highest units movement, generally you don’t want units to hit Melee in Round 1. Zeta Gundam has a base movement of 8″ so a table length can range from 32″-48″. The player opt for a big table that is 6ft long.

Each players get half of the battlefield to setup terrain and Control Points (CPs). You want to have clear fields of fire to these control points since they’re meant to be dangerous areas you want to control.

Place one dead center of the board then place the rest in pairs two at a time. The CP pairs should be equal distance apart. An easy way to do this, is to set each CP a set distance from either table edge or the center line, for instance “this pair of CPs shall be 18″ from the table edge”. On a 6ft (72″) table each CP is 18″ from the edge and 36″ away from each other.

The CP pairs can have different distances, you can have one pair that is 18″ from the edge and another pair that is 10″ from the edge. That’s up to you and your opponent. We recommend you have one CP inside your deployment zone so you can immediately start your turn on top and capture it. You and your opponent will decide if the 2nd pair of CPs will be in your deployment zone or in the center field.

In this battle both CPs are within their deployment zones. We are using objective markers from a very popular wargame as an easy visual representation of where you need to stand to capture the point.

For this battle each player has half the battlefield and the deployment zone is 1/2 of that. So for a 6ft x 4ft (72×48″) table, each half of the battlefield is 36″ long and 48″ wide. Each player’s deployment zone will be 18″ long and 48″ wide.

The ZetaCannon team has Kamille and Kai hang back to make the most of their ranged attacks, while the Gouf GX team has Norris up front with Garrod in the back. The Gouf player is opting not to place the Gouf on the nearby control point, while that will hurt them in the long run for Momentum generation, it will allow him to be closer to the enemy and get into melee sooner.

Mobile Suit Army Lists

The players agree to a game of 900 points.

Team Gouf GX

• Norris Packard’s (Ace) Gouf Custom (250pts)
  • Master of Mobile Suits Upgrade (+150pts)
    • Gives +1 Crit Range on ATK & DEF
• Garrod’s (Skilled Pilot) Gundam X (500pts)

Norris being the more seasoned pilot was chosen as the Commander, while his unit is lower performance than Garrod’s he is still very capable boasting superior Melee, Movement and Defenses.

Team Zeta Cannon

• Kai Shiden’s (Ace) Guncannon (150pts)
• Kamille Bidan’s (Ace) Zeta Gundam (750pts)

Likewise, even though he’s in a much cheaper unit, Kai Shiden, the former white base pilot and current day reporter / espionage agent was chosen as the Commander to show him lending Kamille some of his insight as team leader as they escape from Jaburo.

Kamille’s Zeta Gundam is the highest performance unit in this battle and boasts excellent stats all around. The player plans on having Zeta push forward and shoot down the enemy in an initial rush.

You can find the mecha unit profiles for these units on the MechaStellar game downloads page. If this is your first time following along a game of MechaStellar it will be helpful to have a printed off copy on hand as you’re playing the game.

Key Concepts

Momentum is an army wide resource that represents your armies morale, training, expertise, luck and overall forward Momentum in the flow of battle. You gain Momentum from certain pilot traits, from the Commander’s order – Rally, and for each Control Point you own at the end of every Round.

Your starting Momentum is 10 but is lower if you bring any Elite pilots. Since both sides are bringing an Ace their starting Momentum is 4. Momentum is often expresses as [M+1] or [M-1] which means gains 1 Momentum or loses 1 Momentum.

Momentum is used to fuel your pilot skills, with the most common one being the defensive “Flash” skill which lets you lose 3 Momentum to gain +5 DEF against an attack. Typically Momentum is reserved for high damage attacks like a bazooka or cannon, or versus weapons with high armor penetration such as a beam rifle or beam saber which has a chance to cause catastrophic damage.

Return Fire is a crucial part of the activation system and is intended to make the game feel more like a firefight. The way it works is that anytime a unit is attacked, if they haven’t been activated yet you have to activate them next and if possible attack the unit that attacked you. Elite pilots can ignore the targeting effect.

Attacks are an abstract concept for each weapon and doesn’t necessarily translate on a 1:1 basis. For instance a beam rifle attack makes 6 shots (6d10), you can think of that as six shots in rapid succession or a single well placed shot that would cause significant damage compared to a glancing hit. Most weapons have a base of 6 shots, many weapons also have a Rapid Fire modifier such as RF+1d10 which gives bonus shots in rapid fire range (or a penalty for sniper type weapons). Most weapons have two ranges listed with the first range being the max range and the 2nd range being the rapid fire range, so i.e. Range 24″|16″ the 16″ is the rapid fire range.

Whether you are attacking or defending each d10 you roll succeeds on a 5+. On attack we call this a HIT, on Defense we call this a DEF. A 10 is a Crit and is worth 2 HITs or 2 DEF. The Focus Skill and some Pilot Traits allow you to Hit or Defends on a 3+.

Elite Pilots get to pick a bonus when attacking. For Shooting they can choose Bullseye (+Crit Range) or Barrage (+Attack dice). For Melee Glorious Melee gives both, while Swift Melee gives (+Crit) but prevents Counterattacks. On Defense they can choose Dodge (+Crit Range) or Guard (+Defense Dice).

Your units also give you bonus HITs on Attack and bonus DEF on defense based on their Performance and Frame level. So an advanced unit like Zeta Gundam has a higher bonus than the older Guncannon. Combat Roles also influence ones bonuses, so the Gouf Custom has a high bonus in melee while the Guncannon has a high bonus on shooting.

Lastly, units have a chance to destroy terrain whenever they attack a building directly or if it is used as cover to protect against an incoming attack. The general rule is the building has to roll a d10 save and their target number to survive depends on the weapons damage. DMG 200 is 2+, DMG 300 is 3+, DMG 400 is 4+ etc. If you target the building directly, it has to make 5 saves.

Round 1

Garrod is up first, since he went first he can issue a Challenge. In doing so he could challenge Kamille and the would have to target one another. If another unit targets them, they can counterattack for freee. Garrod considers it but decides against it, since Norris’ Gouf may want to attack Zeta Gundam later this Round.

Garrod uses his first move action to move up. Since their team has less than 5 Momentum [M<5] moving towards the enemy triggers a Momentum Shift for [M+1]. Garrod’s pilot trait is Fighting Spirit, if he would gain [M+1] from Rally or a Momentum shift he can instead gain 2d10x100 HP, even above his Max HP. Garrod chooses to forego the [M+1] and instead boost his HP as he charges forward. He rolls [3,5] and gains +800 HP.

Gundam GX-9900 HP 4900/4100.

Garrod moves up a 2nd time and checks range (pictured above). Zeta Gundam is in Sensors range, he gets a Target lock bonus (bonus shot). He then shoots the GX Shield Beam Rifle at Zeta Gundam.

Garrod chooses Bullseye (Crit Hit on a 9+) his beam rifle is attack 6d10 and Target Lock gives +1 Shot. He gets lucky and rolls [2,5,5,5,7,9,10] = 4 Hits (5+) and 2 Crits (9+ thanks to Bullseye) = Since each Crit is worth 2 Hits this is 8 Hits total. While shooting his Gundam gives a bonus of +7 Hits = 15 Hits total.

Kamille Dodge (Crit DEF on a 9+) = [1,1,2,9] =1 Crit DEF = 2 DEF

That was a pretty lousy roll out the gate. Fortunately, Zeta Gundam has a Boost point which he can use to reroll any dice on an Evade roll. So Kamille rerolls the [1,1,2] and keeps the 9, he gets [2,6,9] along with the [9] from earlier = 1 DEF + 2 CRIT DEF = 5 DEF His very agile Gundam gives +7 DEF on Evade for a total of 12 DEF.

With 15 Hits and 12 DEF there are 3 Hits unblocked.

Fortunately for Zeta Gundam they have cover which provides 2 Blocks. We now roll a d10 to see if the Cover survives, since the beam rifle is DMG 300 the building needs a 3+ to survive, which it does on a [3].

That leave 1 hit from the beam rifle, Zeta Gundam could use the Flash skill to prevent the hit, but it feels like a waste of Momentum so the player decides not to.

That lone hit from the beam rifle only does 300 DMG, but it has a chance to cause catastrophic damage with an Armor Save. The GX Shield Rifle is ARM PEN 7 so Zeta Gundam rolls an Armor Save with a target number of 7+. Zeta Gundam rolls a [6], failing the save and taking another 1000 DMG for 1300 total.

Zeta Gundam HP 2800/4100

End of Turn Momentum = EOT [M]  ZetaCannon 4  GoufGX 4

Kamille’s turn. The Zeta Gundam strafes to the right, moving closer to the enemy triggers a Momentum shift since [M<5] bring them to [M=5].

Kamille moves again and checks LOS. The Gouf player was surprised by Zeta Gundam’s mobility, the lateral movement gave Kamille just enough visibility to see the Gouf Custom who was previously hidden by LOS blocking cover.

• Kamille chooses Barrage (+1 Shot)
• Norris chooses Dodge (+1 Crit Range) Combined with Norris Master of Mobile Suits skill this means he will Crit DEF on an 8++ instead of 10++
• Zeta’s beam rifle makes 6+1 Shots (7d10)
  • 7d10 = [1,1,2,4,4,10,10] = 2 Crits and 0 Hits = 4 Hits
  • Kamille uses Focus [M-1] to hit on a 3+ so the 4s are now HITs = +2 Hits
  • Kamille’s pilot trait gives a bonus +2 Hits (or +2 Crits vs a Challenge target).
  • The high performance Zeta Gundam gives a shooting bonus of +8 Hits
    • Total = 4 + 2 + 2 + 8 = 16 Hits
• Norris has a Shield and rolls 6d10 for Defense on Evade.
  • 6d10 = [4,4,6,8,10,10] = 1 DEF + 3 Crit DEF (8++) = 7 DEF
    • He uses Focus [M-1] to defend on a 3+ = +2 DEF
  • The Gouf fortunately has Cover for +2 DEF
    • The rifle is DMG 300 so the cover survives on a 3+ and gets a (5)
  • The Gouf Custom and its Shield give an Evade bonus of +5 DEF
    • Total = 7 + 2 + 2 + 5 = 16 DEF

The beam rifle bores a hole through the building and part of the Gouf Custom’s shield, if it weren’t for Norris quick reflexes he might have been finished. “He must be an Ace” thinks Kamille.

End of Turn Momentum = EOT [M]  ZetaCannon 5  GoufGX 4

Norris is up next.

Unused to working together Garrod blundered too close to Norris, preventing the Gouf from moving down that street and towards Zeta Gundam. “Keep your distance and keep your eyes on the enemy Gundam” shouts Norris.

Knowing that both enemies are too far for melee and outside RF range of his shield gatling, Norris considers his options. He moves twice towards the middle of the map, moving closer triggers a Momentum shift. Norris has Unwavering Loyalty trait which provides the same bonus as Fighting Spirit, so he foregoes the [M+1] to gain 2d10x100 HP. He gets [4,2]

Gouf Custom HP = 4300/3700

While he could capture the center Control Point to gain [M+2] at the end of each Round he has a different plan. Norris uses the Zeal skill [M-2] for +2 combat actions bringing him up to 3 Combat Actions.

He uses the first to accelerate and move a third time towards the center.

Norris uses his 2nd action to shoot his Rocket Anchor to pull himself closer to a building. A little trick that gets him a few extra inches of movement.

Designer’s Note: This maneuver isn’t explicitly mentioned in the rules, but technically there’s nothing preventing you from making that building roll some Armor saves vs a Pull weapon. Remember, the point of MechaStellar is to have a lot of fun with giant robots. So if you and your opponent think it sounds cool, reminds you of a famous scene and makes sense, go for it!

That puts him within Rapid Fire range of the Guncannon. Machine Guns and Gatlings guns are notorious for having fantastic rapid fire bonuses. Instead of bonus shots they gain bonus hits in rapid fire.

Norris uses his 3rd action to shoot the Shield Gatling at Kai’s Guncannon. One of Norris’ pilot traits is “Fierce reputation” which causes the enemy to make a Morale Save vs Rout prior to the attack, and 2 Saves if they are an Elite Pilot like Kai.

Kai rolls 2d10, his Morale target number as a Skilled Pilot is 6+. Despite saying “I’m glad I’m a coward” in the OYW, the older Kai holds his ground here with a [7,7]. His team would have lost [M-1] for each failed save. Now for the attack.

• The Gouf chooses Barrage (Normally +1 Shot, but instead +1 Hit with Support weapons like a Gatling Gun)
• The Gatling gun makes 9d10 shots. As reminder Norris’ trait gives +1 Crit Range on ATK & DEF, so 9++ are always Crits.
  • [1,2,3,3,3,4,4,9,9] = 2 Crits + 0 Hits = 4 Hits
    • Norris uses Focus [M-1] to Hit on a 3+ = +5 Hits
  • Barrage gives +1 Hit
  • Rapid Fire range gives +3 Hits
  • The Gouf has +3 Hits shooting
  • Total 4+5+1+ 3 + 3 = 16 Hits
• Kai chooses Dodge (Crit DEF on a 9+) and roll 8d10 to Evade
  • [1,1,3,3,5,6,7,8] = 4 DEF
    • Kai uses Focus [M-1] to defend on a 3+ = +2 DEF
    • Kai’s Pilot trait gives +1 DEF (or +2 vs Counterattack)
    • The older Guncannon only gets an Evade bonus of +1 DEF
      • It does have Luna Titanium armor which gives +1 DEF vs [K]inetic weapons
    • On the Control Point Kai doesn’t have any decent cover.
    • Total = 5+2+1+1+1 = 9 DEF
  • 16 – 9 = 7 Unblocked Hits. Each hit does 200 DMG = 1400 DMG.
  • With 7 Unblocked Hits the Gouf will strike a Finishing Blow for +1000 DMG
• Guncannon HP 2100/4500

The player could have used the Flash Skill here for +5 DEF and would have prevented the Finishing blow. Many players would choose that, but this player is biding their time and willing to take a heavy hit in order to use that Momentum later.

Kai as the Commander uses the Trust Command to regain 2d10x100 HP = [5,3] and regains 800 HP.

Guncannon HP 2900/4500

EOT [M] ZetaCannon 4  Gouf GX 2

“Hey, Kamille can you get this guy off my back? The Guncannon doesn’t have a good track record against the Gouf.“

Kai is up next. Up close and personal with a Gouf he has Ramba Ral flashbacks. Kai shakes it off and presses forward anyways hoping to impress his cellmate Reccoa. He gets [M+1] for a Momentum shift bringing them up to [M=5]

• Kai fires his Beam Rifle (6d10), he’s in Rapid Fire range for +1 Shot.
• Kai chooses Barrage for another +1 Shot
• Kai is also close enough the Gouf is in his Sensors range, he gets a Target Lock bonus of +1 Shot.
  • 8d10 = [2,4,5,5,7,7,8,8] = 6 Hits
    • Kai uses [M-3] for Valor and gains +5 Hits
    • The Guncannon gives a shooting bonus of +5 Hits
    • Total = 6+5+5 = 16 Hits
• Norris chooses Dodge (+1 Crit Range, 8++)
  • 6d10 = [3,3,3,5,8,10] = 1 DEF + 2 Crit DEF = 5 DEF
    • Norris uses Focus [M-1] to defend on a 3+ = +3 DEF
    • The Gouf Custom gets +5 DEF on Evade
    • Total = 13 DEF
• There are 3 Unblocked Hits and Norris is too low on Momentum to use Flash
  • Each Hit does 300 DMG (300×3 = 900) and causes an Armor Save (PEN 6)
  • Norris needs a 6+ and gets [2,5,6]
    • Two failed saves does 2000 DMG
    • The Gouf takes 2900 DMG total
  • Gouf Custom HP 4300 – 2900 = 1400

Norris briefly considers a Counterattack with their last Momentum, but realizes it won’t finish off Kai and they will need every Momentum they can save for next Round.

And with his HP low Norris as Mission Commander could use the Rally order, it’s a gamble but if he and Garrod roll well, thanks to their Pilot traits they could both gain good HP or keep the Momentum. But the’yre worried about a bad roll with Norris low on HP so they choose old reliable Trust.

Trust 2d10x100 = [8,9] = Norris recovers 1700 HP. Even though the beam pierced right through the Gouf, Norris is not willing to give up the fight yet!

Gouf Custom = 3100.

EOT [M] ZetaCannon 2  Gouf GX 1

With the Gouf surviving the barrage Kai will move 8″ backward to make it harder to get into melee. With their Momentum low he doesn’t have to worry about losing any from a Momentum shift.

End of Round

• Team ZetaCannon own 2 Control Points = 2x [M+2].
• The Gouf Gundam X team own only 1 Control Point = [M+2].
  • Realizing he may have overextended, the Gouf player is starting to wish he had captured the initial control point or the center. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
• End of Round Momentum – EOR [M]
  • Zeta Cannon 6 Gouf GX 3

Click here to continue to Round 2.