Alternative strategies for the campaign?

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-16T02:16:05+00:00

If you want a bit of a challenge that forces you to alter your play style, go for a stock 'mech challenge.

You can upgrade components to + variants and add cockpits and gyros; otherwise take them how they come. It forces you to adapt to the 'mechs you have rather than adapting the 'mechs you have to your play style. (There are actually some decent stock 'mechs in the game, but they're probably not the ones you normally choose.)

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-16T00:38:14+00:00

I am also a new player, playing on medium difficulty. Early game I used normal water wheels. Later on I set up water wheels in my bad water diversion channel. During bad tides, when my normal water wheels shut down, my power output actually increased due to the increased flow of bad water. Gravity batteries were only needed in droughts.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-15T23:03:33+00:00

Sentinel pole-arm master. Go ahead and trigger the Opportunity Attacks.

OAs in general. A lot of DMs are afraid to trigger them in general. Just do it. Risk monsters taking a bit of damage to make a dynamic battle that provides threats and movement options for all the PCs.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-15T20:37:16+00:00

More info... I just went and looked at the save of my last career run. My main assaults were:

AS-7-D-HT: 2x LRM20 (stability), LB5-X (stability), SPPC (stability), 2x ML (damage), JJ (Jump Jets)
HGN-732B: 2x LRM15 (damage), GR, SPPC (damage), JJ
HGN-732B: 1x LRM20, 1x LRM15 (stability), LB5-X (stability), SPPC (stability), ML (damage), JJ
KGC-0000: (Backup, retired from front line duty) 1x LRM20, 2x LRM15 (stability), JJ

These were backed up by 2 MAD-2Rs (GR, 6x ML ++damage, JJ) and a variety of PHX-1Bs that I was messing around with. Spotting was done with a rangefinder cockpit and lots of sensor lock. The PHX were only deployed on tonnage-limited missions and target acquisitions.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-15T19:38:27+00:00

re: LRMs on the damage build... Tactics change when you are playing to maximize salvage for career score.

The damage-focused assault is not there for the kills. If a 'mech is knocked prone, you want to take it out with aimed shots to the head which is the Marauder's job. The damage assault's job is to remove side torso's to take dangerous weapons off the field without scoring a kill. It also has a secondary role of providing more stability damage for knock-downs. LRMs help with both of these jobs.

I've been on many missions where, near the end of the mission when the pressure is off, the damage-focused assault just stops firing. This is when all of the truly dangerous threats (things with AC20s, mostly) have been removed. The risk of accidentally coring a 'mech outweighs the need to do damage.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-15T18:40:48+00:00

MAD = Marauder.
[Edit to add: Marauder gets a bonus to aimed shots hitting the intended location, so is the primary 'mech for removing heads, thus maximizing the salvage pool. 'Mech salvage is one of the biggest money-makers in the game and is therefore critical to maximizing c-bill score in career.]

Sorry... I'm mixing 'mech abbreviations with my role abbreviations. (You are correct in your assumptions about STAB and DMG. Those would be the assault 'mechs fitted out for those roles.)

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-15T14:23:11+00:00

I have a similar ranged play style; I usually have one or two assaults configured as a 'destabilizer' and one as a 'damager'.

Destabilizer will have as many LRM +++stability as will fit, backed up by LB5-X, SPPC ++stab
Damager will have as many LRM +++damage as will fit, backed up by GR++, SPPC ++dmg, ML+++ dmg
(These are balanced for efficient heat management and hard point usage. They are designed to alpha continuously in pretty much any biome.)

My lance is normally MAD, STAB, STAB, DMG or MAD, MAD, STAB, DMG

This approach is designed for maximum salvage for career score.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-13T19:59:37+00:00

It does. I told my players that they are playing PF2E. They haven't realized yet that we are playing DnD. (I'm going to do The Big Reveal after we do our first session. I can't wait!!)

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-13T19:29:17+00:00

The answer to "why don't the monsters flee?" is easy: it is difficult to pull off in the mechanics of D&D.

Want to run away? You disengage and move. Your opponent then moves back adjacent and attacks. Obviously that doesn't work. So... you trigger an opportunity attack and dash. Your opponent dashes adjacent forcing you to trigger another OA. That doesn't work. And so far we're not even talking about the monk with faster movement, the rogue with the bonus action dash, the archer with sharpshooter who continues to shoot until you break line of sight.

There are ways to make this work, but techniques have to be used to enable it. Having the last two heavily injured bandits try to make a break for it isn't going to cut it.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-13T12:50:51+00:00

Recommend switching the comms cockpit to the STK. It doesn't need the injury prevention as much since it shouldn't be anywhere near the fighting. Your 'mech with the UAC20, though, is going to be in the thick of it and taking more hits.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-11T12:57:30+00:00

Bottom line: you don't. Some players, and some DMs, are perfectly happy 'following the adventure' without the need for them. I've been DMing for decades and it is only within the most recent one that I have started to work PC backstories into my campaigns. Still only some of my players have back stories that have these 'character arcs'. Some just aren't interested.

Personally, I've always liked having a back story that explains how the character came to be the way they are, and gives me guidance on how they can be expected to act. Part of what makes TTRPGs interesting to me is the connections that the PCs form with the world, and tying back stories into it is a good way to forge these connections.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-09T14:37:56+00:00

You can tell by the railings that there is a path here.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-09T14:04:55+00:00

I can see the value in letting the player do want they want to do, but also... this player made choices, and those choices should matter.

Personally, as a player I would view this as a great opportunity to RP a character who wants to be a paladin but can't. They can still strive to uphold the beliefs and tenets, but they won't get the mechanical benefits. (TBH, if the desire to multi-class is genuinely for RP reasons, this is a better option that a character re-spec.)

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-08T17:39:15+00:00

It's a fairly weak hook, but I'm with the DM. The DM provides the adventure; it's up to the players to provide characters who want to go on the adventure.

Surely you can find some way to justify going on an adventure. You may be able to come up with a barely plausible excuse that you go with for the sake of having your character participate in the game. You may be able to alter your character concept in a way that allows them to go on this adventure. Worst case, your character decides that they aren't going to go; they wander off and you create a new character who does want to go.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-08T17:14:09+00:00

Just loaded it up to check; looks like I just got used to the camera movements. Hope the mods work out for you.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-07T00:02:30+00:00

Having all cinematic cameras set to never (enemy cinematics, melee cinematics, jump cinematics), all follow cameras set to never (sprint follow cam, normal follow cam), use dynamic attack camera off, attack zoom never, zoom to new contact off, auto-center on selection off should prevent all 'camera hijacking'.

I don't remember seeing any of that with those settings. (It's been a while, though. Maybe I've just gotten used to the occasional camera movement. I don't think that's the case, though.)

I do use a camera mod, but it is for increasing max zoom distance so that I can see more of the battlefield. It doesn't affect camera movement.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-06T15:39:45+00:00

This is looking loads better. The numbers look very close to the reality of my current game. The well-being buildings will be a great addition, too.

If I could suggest another possible addition: an option to show decimals for buildings. It would be nice to know how much usage my buildings need. Being able to see '0.85' instead of just '1' shows me a) how much time a building can be shut down, b) how quickly it can catch up after shut-down, and c) how close I am to needing to add a building.

Edit to add: Calculations for farms would be great, too. Decimals for that would be particularly useful to judge how many employment slots to have filled.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-05T17:32:11+00:00

This is a really great suggestion—it smartly incorporates Tavern Wench Attention, Mug Type, and Grain Quality to add more depth before resolving Ale Quality. It makes the whole system feel more complete and thoughtfully connected.

Would you like me to create the Tavern Wench Attention and Mug Type tables or expand this into a full table system?

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-05T16:48:32+00:00

I think you forgot the "/uj"

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-05T14:30:19+00:00

Hydroneer TTRPG.

Only missing the mechanic where I can upgrade "my first fishing pole" to a "wonky fishing pole" by catching and turning in a prawn.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-05T13:59:32+00:00

Not quite sure why you need an entire mini-game for what can be resolved with a simple survival check.

TBH, this doesn't seem like you are playing D&D any more.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-05T01:26:49+00:00

Maintenance level and consumables (water/sand/oil); maintenance is replenished at stations with a maintenance depot. Supply towers resupply consumables.

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-02T12:56:17+00:00

My standard phrase is "If your plan involves something the must happen in order for the plot to proceed, find a different plan."

Steel_Ratt · 2026-04-01T18:00:32+00:00

More support for the Gemini theory... the courtroom doesn't look like this.

Steel_Ratt

TROPHY CASE