Delta Dust Misc

Equipment

Control Systems

Combat vehicles must forward immense amounts of data to their pilots in a way that is instantly understandable, likewise, they need to effectively translate the pilot's commands into actions. A number of different methods of varying complexity and utility are used, and unless otherwise noted they can be mixed and matched as desired.

• Screen: The simplest form of combat-worthy controls, Screen controls are not particularly different from 21st century aircraft cockpits save they have several high-definition screens instead of cockpit glass. They have no modifiers.
• Panoramic: An upgrade to the Screen system, Panoramic cockpits wrap the entire interior of the cockpit sphere in vision screens. The vehicle itself is removed from sight or replaced with a wireframe via image processing, giving the pilot a nearly unobstructed view in all directions. Panoramic Cockpits double the Wits bonus for vehicular defense.
• Trace: A more athletic sort of cockpit, Trace systems do away with most of the complicated control hardware of other control methods, instead essentially 'tracing' the actions of the pilot. Appropriately-caliberated force-feedback completes the package. Trace systems double the Physique bonus for vehicular defense and add Physique as a bonus to any Brawl actions.
• Synaptic: Originally developed under the code-name Zero System during the Solar War, the so-called Synaptic control system is a neural bridge connected directly to the vehicle's control processors. While it does require settled brainwaves to operate properly (making it incompatible with a Trace system), it is effective at replacing clumsy physical controls. Synaptic controls double the Clarity bonus for offense and defense and add 50% of Clarity to Gunnery actions.
• MMI: The MMI (Man-Machine Interface) system supports the pilot with a powerful combat analysis and support expert program. This essentially acts as a 'combat secretary' for the pilot, with the best ones learning alongside said their pilot to perform actions essentially reflexively. MMI systems add one-half of the character's Intellect to Wits and Perception for vehicular defense purposes.
• Telescopic: Despite the name, the Telescopic system is actually a sophisticated data-collecting and sorting algorithm and hands-free controls such as eye-tracking targeting. Telescopic targeting increases the Perception bonus to Gunnery by 50% and also adds 50% of Perception to Electronic attack actions.
• Command Cockpit: Often being an actual second seat with a tactical holotank and the like, Command Cockpits are made to enable in-flight tactical management at a level above 'stay on my wing'. Command Cockpits increase the Command bonus of a vehicle by 100%.
• Psycomm: Allows the control of remote weapons via quantum brain waves. Requires an aleph pilot.
• Psychoframe: By embedding quantum brainwave receptors directly on the processors within individual parts of the mecha, response time can be increased. Normally functions as a Synaptic system but an aleph can spend an aleph point per round during which stat bonuses are applied as if it were every other attribute.

Scarlet Curtain

Introduced into service on the eve of the Solar War, the Scarlet Curtain is a broad-band particle 'fogger' that disrupts most form of electromagnetic sensing over a large area. The reddish haze it generated when operating gave it the popular name. Proving effective at disrupting missile fire control and long-range targeting, the Scarlet Curtain was decisive in shaping tactics both during and subsequent to the conflict.

Scarlet Curtains provide a substantial boost to Electronic Defense to both themselves and nearby units - both friendly and enemy. Any weapons firing into or out of a distance within the Not So Close range bracket of the emitting unit or point are effected by the Scarlet Curtain. (note that in practice, the effect fades over distance as opposed to being sharply curtailed - this is a simplification) The Scarlet Curtain affects friendly fire control as much as it does enemy.

Additionally, as Scarlet Curtains are an area effect (as opposed to a literal curtain), hostile units can penetrate them in order to negate much of the effect. If combat occurs up close, the following effects happen:

At Not So Close, the Scarlet Curtain operates at half effectiveness.

At Close, the Scarlet Curtain operates at one third effectiveness.

At Very Close, the Scarlet Curtain operates at one quarter effectiveness.

At Point Blank and Brawl, Scarlet Curtains provide no bonus.

Due to the scattering effects of the Scarlet Curtain, conventional ECM, chaff and point defense systems are drastically degraded in effectiveness. A unit under a Scarlet Curtain halves its intrinsic Electronic Defense and the effects of any specialized communication gear it may have.

Furthermore, while multiple Scarlet Curtains can 'stack', the effect can only get so 'thick' - after a certain point, the particles simple clump up and take longer to dissipate. To calculate the effective strength of a group of Scarlet Curtains, add up the total strength of all Curtains and then divide that by the single strongest source. For every doubling (x2, x4, x8, etc), add +1 to the effective strength of the highest source and use that as the overall strength.

Finally, because Scarlet Curtains are particles with a half-life, when they are no longer being replenished (due to deactivation or destruction) the effect will degrade over time. For every turn that passes, treat all units as being progressively one step 'closer' (with those at Moderately Close and beyond as being a single range bracket).

Modifying Your Machine

External Fittings

While most vehicles are designed to carry a certain amount of exterior hardware (as per the Carrying stat), sometimes you want to carry more - more propellant, more guns, more verniers, more batteries. The downside to this is that it will often unbalance a unit and exposes a larger amount of hardware to damage.

For every multiple of Carrying in external equipment a unit has, it suffers -1 to effective Armor when calculating Glancing hits - even a light strike can be dangerous when you have a poorly-shielded reactor feeding a strapped-on beam cannon! Some external systems are designed to be jettisonable, which can be done at any time before dice have been rolled.

Fabricators

Building things requires a certain number of work units. Some items (normally large or complicated ones that are particularly slow to build) will have a work unit 'cost' of a value times another value. This represents the maximum work units applied at any one time and how many consecutive cycles this needs to be done.

Example 1: An item with a requirement of 6 Work Units needs to have 6 Work Units applied to it to be completed - it could be 1 every cycle, or 6 in one cycle, or 2 for three cycles.

Example 2: An item with a requirement of 4x2 Work Units needs to have a total of 8 Work Units applied to it - however, no more than 4 can be applied to it at any time.

• Fabricators use two resources: Feedstock and Dust

Cannibalizing Machines

Vehicles such as space fighters and mobile suits can be stripped down and their vital components removed. This is commonly done to damaged vehicles that cannot be repaired due to time or material constraints. As a general rule, cannibalizing a machine takes a single Work Unit to remove all of its components (reactors, weapons, etc), as vehicles are meant to come apart for maintenance. Putting them all back is a different matter.

Examples

Hylas

Primary Operator: White Rose Kingdom

Role: Generalist Grunt Suit

Kinetic Defense:

Energy Defense:

Electronic Defense:

Melee Defense:

Speed:

Thrust:

Output: 2

Battery: 5

Stealth:

Armor: 2

Shields: 0

Durability:

Targeting:

Carrying: 4

Fixed Armament

• Head Gatlings
• 1 Alpha Edge Sword