GURPS Virtual Mekton

[scc]

Conversion notes for something I'm thinking of running

For those who don't know what Mekton is it's an old RPG, over 20 years since it's last release. It sports a very nice Mech design system that allows for quick creation, while having enough options to produce a lot of different Mechs. It also makes taking different form factors (Mech, fighter, tank, etc) rewarding. Virtual Mekton is a fan created setting around the idea of high school kids playing an arcade video game and putting it altogether leaves you with something like a classic anime mech show (Lots of emo teenagers piloting individual mechs). Unfortunately not only is Mekton so old, it uses the Interlock system. So I'm looking at using GURPS to provide the actual engine for a possible future campaign.

Now actual Mech design and stats will be done in Mekton, which does make sense, this is an in-universe video game. Skills to play the game will be video game specilizations of Gunner (Beams, Missile and Cannon) [as MZ combat ranges would count as point-blank range], Piloting (Mecha) and unless certain control set ups are used a Melee Weapon (Mecha) skill [I'm not going to force people to take multiple skills for something like this, especially when a weapon is only of a given type because someone says it is]. These will all be easy skills which default from their normal counterparts at zero, but suffer a -4 going the other way.

For actual skill resolution in the video game using GURPS quick contests and comparing margins of success instead of Mektons normal skill roles should work, Mekton has two level of crits, one when the attacker succeeds by 5 and another at 10, how should these be re-scaled? (This is why I'm using the MoS mechanic instead of stock GURPS)

The biggest problem is that several systems work by providing a bonus to MP or Manoeuvrer Pool, a pool of +1 to rolls you make per fight. The issue that the base size of this pool is skill level -5, which is rather harsh if playing GURPS

Now is there anything people think is missing from my conversion of the mechanics?

[ArchonShiva]

The way I ran my longest running Mekton-hybrid was to make mechs not act every second - MV became an action roll of some sort, and if you rolled over it you acted this turn.

The scale had humans act about 3-5 times more often that medium-sized PC mecha.

I've actually had more success doing it on the Mekton time scale with multiple actions per (longer) turn, where you could use an action to boost dodge and so on. You rolled d10s, adding the result until it exceeded your initiative value, then you had actions equal to the no bee of dice you had rolled.

Humans had init values around 25, with full-sized mecha below 10.

[scc]

I was going to use MZ 10-second turns in VM and there's not going to be chances for mixing like you suggested. And I think you mean MP not MV.

As for init I hadn't thought of that, but standard GURPS rules would apply because the MZ ones won't work.

One advantage of doing things the way I am which I forgot before, with the Mecha piloting being a video game I don't have to re-work out MZ knockout mechanics

[ArchonShiva]

To be quite honest, I haven't run or played Mekton in nearly fifteen years.

I think MV is the thing that modifies your number of actions (it was often negative, which was good), and MP is... is that a thing from neural interfaces?

All my stuff is Mekton II (plus tweaks from the green Jovian Chronicles), as well, because I broke Mekton Zeta too badly before we started planning a real campaign. So we may be miscommunicating on terminology.

I miss playing Mekton, though.