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Old 07-05-2015, 03:55 PM   #1
RedDragon
 
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Default GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

I'm interested in running a GURPS Metal Gear campaign, and I haven't really seen many posts on the subject before. So I'm starting this thread so that the Characters, weapons, locations, (and most importantly, mechs) of the Metal Gear series can be ported to GURPS 3rd and 4th edition. I've created Metal Gear REX using GURPS 3e Mecha and will post the stats shortly, and ask for suggestions on how to improve it.

Last edited by RedDragon; 07-05-2015 at 03:58 PM.
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Old 07-05-2015, 06:16 PM   #2
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

Here it is:

Metal Gear Rex [TL8+3] (GURPS 3e)
(All components are TL8 unless otherwise specified.)
[*]Description (!Spoilers!):Metal Gear REX was a Metal Gear prototype that was jointly developed by DARPA and ArmsTech for the United States Army in the early 2000s. In the early 1960s, Soviet scientist Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin created designs for a REX-like bipedal tank. However, Colonel Volgin of GRU rejected his ideas in favor of Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov's Shagohod. Drunk and bitter, Granin sent his designs to an American colleague, revealing this to CIA operative Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater. The development of REX itself was foreseen in a psychic premonition by Elisa and Ursula during the San Hieronymo Incident in 1970.

Some time after Solid Snake's encounters with TX-55 Metal Gear in 1995 and Metal Gear D in 1999, an attempt to carry out a Metal Gear project within the United States had been planned but was officially scrapped yet convinced the private weapons company ArmsTech that building one for the U.S. Army would be a very profitable venture. ArmsTech had been in a dire state financially, with the possibility of a hostile takeover becoming apparent after failing to obtain a contract on a new line of fighter jet for the U.S. Air Force. Likewise, the Department of Defense agreed to its development due to the defense budget being slashed by 15% and thus being forced to allow the private sector to develop their weapons for them.

In 2002, DARPA Chief Donald Anderson was heavily bribed by ArmsTech to back the Metal Gear REX project. DARPA funded REX's development covertly, using part of the United States' black budget.The nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island was constructed to conceal the development of Metal Gear REX. Its rail gun was based on technology developed for the SDI, having been successfully miniaturized in a joint venture between ArmsTech and Livermore National Labs. Livermore Labs also developed a new type of nuclear weapon for REX using NOVA and NIF laser nuclear fusion testing equipment and supercomputers.

One of the main goals of developing REX was to overcome a global trend in military downsizing at the time. REX was a self-mobile launch platform capable of using its massive rail gun to launch a nuclear warhead contained projectile package with a low radar cross-section, and without the need for a rocket propulsion system, The launch event was also undetectable by satellite thermal imaging, unlike the massive heat signature characteristic of ICBM launches. It could give any country in the world a first-strike capability that other nations would find hard to counter. This also exploited a specific loophole that existed in anti-nuke treaties, since projectiles fired from a rail gun were not technically ICBMs, so the START treaties imposing limitations on ballistic missiles did not apply.

During REX's development, the Metal Gear engineers became concerned of what would happen if REX, after it was completed and doing solo ops in the field, was detected by the enemy and forced to engage in close range combat against conventional forces. They then decided that they could make REX's hull a weapon in itself. Although the program was completed, and had gotten fantastic results from supercomputer simulation, the military shelved the project before they could even install it (as the military viewed it as not being part of their regulations). However, REX's chief engineer Hal Emmerich secretly uploaded the data into REX anyway. Although the first actual prototype for REX was developed in 2005, it went through multiple prototype stages in VR while it was still in the design stage to correct various flaws before being developed. As REX was primarily tested via VR simulations, the Pentagon and ArmsTech needed to perform live testing to compare the simulation data with actual test results. Because of this, they started a field exercise at the remote military facility on Shadow Moses Island.

Sources: The Metal Gear Wiki, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
[*]Body and Subassemblies: Two Legs, one striker arm on the right side (the railgun), limited rotation turret (the "head"), one pod (the radome) on left shoulder.

[*]Drivetrain: One TL10 4,093.5kW Leg drivetrain in each leg.

[*]Arm Motors: One TL9 ST 350 Cheap Striker Arm Motor in Arm.

[*]Thrusters: One Ducted fan with 10,000 lbs. motive thrust in each leg.

[*]Cockpit: Basic Cockpit in turret with the No Extinguisher and No
Lifesystem downgrades.

[*]Built-in Weapons: Two 30mm X GAU-8R Avenger rotary cannons in turret facing forward with 2,500 shots each, Free-Electron Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser (MTHEL-FE, [ArmsTech International V17 Vulcan Cannon, Searing LaserStorm High-Energy Cutter "Slice n' Dice"]) in body facing forward, four 178mm REX missile launchers concealed (see GURPS Vehicles p.42) in body facing upwards with 6 AGM-114P "Hellfire" HEAT missiles each, one 178mm REX missile launcher in each leg facing forward with 3 AGM-114P "Hellfire" HEAT missiles each, 18.5m Rail Gun (Special Ops Optimum Bombardment 422 "Widowmaker" 705mm launch tube) in arm with 3 AGM-129 ACM 200kt Nuclear Warheads, Retractable Sharp Claws (REX's foot spikes) in each leg.

[*]Weapon Accessories: 178mm REX missile launchers in boy are linked, MTHEL-FE has casemate mount, and all AGM-114P and AGM-129 ACM missiles are in anti-blast magazines.

[*]Sensors: 50-mile range PESA in pod facing forward, 125-mile range AESA in pod facing forward.

[*]Comsuite: Basic Comsuite in Turret.

[*]Electronic Countermeasures (ECM): Deceptive Jammer (Jam Rating 6) in turret.

[*]Power Systems: 9,171kW Gas Turbine (ArmsTech AGM 4000 "Behemoth") in body powers all systems except MTHEL-FE using 504.4gph of Diesel fuel. 20,000,000kWs TL9 non-rechargeable power cell (Laser Pro Pack) in body powers MTHEL-FE for 174 shots.

[*]Fuel and Fuel Tanks: 1,515-gallon self-sealing tank in body provides fuel for 3 hours of Gas Turbine operation.

[*]Access Space: 183.72cf of access space in body, 137.88cf of access space in each leg.

[*]Volumes: Arm volume 5,130cf, Pod volume 1,387cf, Turret volume 13,000cf, Body volume 41,800cf, each Leg volume 60,840cf.

[*]Structure: TL10 Medium Frame, Advanced Materials.

[*]Hit Points: Body HP 10,840, Turret HP 4,976, Pod HP 350 (Intentionally lowered), each Leg HP 13,923, Arm HP 5,355.

[*]Surface Features: Waterproof. Radical Stealth and Foot Rollers.

[*]Armor: Superscience TL15 Collapsed Matter Armor (see GURPS Vehicles Expansion 2 p.6) is PD 6 DR 300, except for pod, which is PD 6 DR 40.

[*]Statistics: Loaded Weight 139,753.74 lbs. Loaded Mass 69.88 tons. Empty weight 97,902.64 lbs. Empty Mass 48.95 tons. Mecha Volume 182,997cf (6,777.67cy). Size Modifiers:+9, Arm +6, Turret +7, Pod +5, Each Leg +8. Price $50,985,785. Health 12.

[*]Dimensions: Height 39.37ft., Length 24.46 ft., Width 18.9ft.

[*]ST and Reach: Body ST 21,680, Arm ST 350. Reach 21. Thrust Damage 36d. Swing Damage 38d.

[*]Ground Performance: Ground Speed 60mph (80mph with foot rollers). Ground Acceleration (see GURPS Vehicles p.129) 18mph/s. gMR 0.75. gSR 2 (gSR 1 with foot rollers). Ground Move 8/30 (8/40 with foot rollers). Jump-capable.


Whoa, sorry for the long post. I tried to keep the design as close as possible to the specifications on the Metal Gear Wiki, but there are some discrepancies, like the weight. As for the weapons, the MTHEL-FE is just a TL8 medium laser cannon from the GURPS Mecha weapon tables (the claws are there too), but the rest I created using the GURPS Vehicles design system. Their stats are as follows:
[*]X GAU-8R Avenger rotary cannon:
Malf: Ver. Dam: 6d x 5 1/2d: 1,800 Max: 7,600 Acc: 15 Wt.: 619.5 lbs. SS: 25 Cost: $30,738 RoF: 78 Pow.: 15.8kW
[*]178mm REX Missile Launchers:
SS: 20 RoF: 1/5 Wt.: 356 lbs. Cost: $6,950 Rating: 108 lbs.
[*]705mm Railgun Launch Tube:
SS: 30 RoF: 1/18 Wt.: 7,000 lbs. Cost: $90,000 Rating: 3,500 lbs.

And the missiles:
[*]AGM-129 ACM 200 kt Nuclear Warhead:
Malf: Crit. Guid: IG/SALH Type: Exp. Dam: 12d x 200,000,000 Spd: 250
End: 11,041 Max: 4,048,000 Min: 0 Skill: 21 WPS: 3,500 lbs. VPS: 70 CPS: $2,150,787
[*]AGM-114P "Hellfire" HEAT Missile:
Malf: Crit. Guid: SALH Type: Exp. Dam: 6d x 56(10) Spd: 487 End: 34 Max: 8,800 Min: 0 Skill: 17 WPS: 108 VPS: 2.16 CPS: $12,461

Please feel free to give suggestions or constructive criticism.

Last edited by RedDragon; 07-07-2015 at 10:16 AM. Reason: Added Backstory
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Old 07-05-2015, 08:38 PM   #3
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

I'm finding that block of stats nearly unreadable. Any chance you could add some line breaks to make it more readable? Also, for those of us who never played Metal Gear, could you give an explanation of the role for this thing and what it's meant to look like?
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:00 PM   #4
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
I'm finding that block of stats nearly unreadable. Any chance you could add some line breaks to make it more readable? Also, for those of us who never played Metal Gear, could you give an explanation of the role for this thing and what it's meant to look like?
AFAICT from the one I've seen and some research, they're big honking nuclear armed mecha, and their primary role is as a MacGuffin.
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:12 PM   #5
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalillama View Post
AFAICT from the one I've seen and some research, they're big honking nuclear armed mecha, and their primary role is as a MacGuffin.
Yeah, I caught that it was a mecha but are they MechWarrior style RealRobo mecha, Robotech/Macross style transformation mecha, Evangelion or Escaflowne style SuperRobo mecha, or something in-between like a Gundam?
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:22 PM   #6
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

Quote:
Originally Posted by tbrock1031 View Post
Yeah, I caught that it was a mecha but are they MechWarrior style RealRobo mecha, Robotech/Macross style transformation mecha, Evangelion or Escaflowne style SuperRobo mecha, or something in-between like a Gundam?
More like real life mecha, theyre weapons platforms like modular tanks. Take a tank, remove the treads, oversize some firing support struts and call them legs then stick its weapons on the sides instead of mounted directly to the turret.

Closest is MW but without the humanoid shapes, airplane fuselage shapes, etc.. MG mechs are also much shorter, but less agile. They can be transported by other vehicles, fit inside buildings, and generally arent as tall as a moving housing development with legs and face paint. It looks like something the American military would commission from General Dynamics.

Rex stands at about 13 meters height. Which is shorter than MW's light mechs if I'm not mistaken.

I've got a hefty bit of bias because I despise the super-robo genre and my bar is set incredibly high on the 'real robo' genre. Any rudeness detected in this post was subconscious and not at all intentional.

If you're a fan of TVTropes, Metal Gear (especially Rex) belongs more in an Oversized Walking Tanks genre.
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Last edited by Blood Legend; 07-05-2015 at 10:30 PM.
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Old 07-05-2015, 11:44 PM   #7
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

I second tbrock1031 notion that it would help if you cleaned up that stat block a bit. I'm wasting too much brain power trying to make heads or tails of anything.

But to help out a bit here's some 4th ed. stats for ol' Rex's weapon load out.

GE GAU-8/A, 30×173mm

Damage: 6d×6(2) pi++ inc
Acc: 6
Range: 3,000/10,000
Weight: 618/1,784
ROF: 65!
Shots: 1,174
ST: 35M
Bulk: -12
Rcl: 2

Dmg is for the PGU-14/B APDU cartridge; the PGU-13/B SAPHE has Dmg 6d×5 pi++ with 3d+1[1d+2] cr ex. Note that RoF is fixed at 65. The original gun installation had RoF 35/70, but this was changed in the 1980s. I haven't been able to find official figures on the power need to run a burst with the avenger.

AGM-114 Hellfire

Damage: 6d×4(10) cr ex
Follow up 6d×16(10) cr ex
Linked 6d×6 cr ex
Acc: 6
Range: 490/14,000
Weight: 108
ROF: N/A
Shots: N/A
ST: 19M
Cost: $110,000

Note that it has both semi-active laser homing and a milimeter wave radar but I haven't found enough info on the radar yet to try to stat it.

100mW Free Electron Laser

Damage: 8d×12(2) burn
Acc: 18
Range: 350,000/1,050,000
Weight: 1.9 tons
ROF: 1
Shots: N/A
ST: 146M
Bulk: -10
Rcl: 1
Cost: $3,700,000

Notes: I treated that laser as having the super science options to get it to fit on Rex reasonably, it's almost 15 tons without it! Needs 322mW to power each shot.

It's gonna take me a while to stat out the rail gun so I'll come back to that later. The nuke it launches though wouldn't be that hard to stat. While it's never stated what yield it was I'm guessing it's around 200kt based on what the Metal Gear wiki says so I'll go with that and it was stated that is was a laser pumped "Pure fusion" bomb so it will have negligible fall out.

200kt Pure Fusion blast
Damage: 6d×28,000 cr ex
Linked 6d×26,000 burn ex rad sur (Note divide burning explosive damage by 2 times distance in yards rather then 3)

As for the weapons I did stat up, the Avenger is from Hans himself so it's pretty much official, the stats for the Hellfire was derived by me but was stated using pretty much the same rules used for shape charges in High-Tech (They're actually pretty easy to reverse engineer), everything else was from wikipedia, should work well enough for game purposes but if I have the time I'll try to find more trust worth figures later. The lasers stats were figured by using the Blaster and Laser Design article from Pyramid 3/37 with power requirements figured by.... "sources" and the nuke stats are also figured from "sources".

I hope that this helps.
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Old 07-06-2015, 10:08 AM   #8
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

I changed it, is it more legible now? Sorry, it was my first post. Also, tbrock1031, if you Google the aforementioned Metal Gear Wiki and type in "REX" you can see pictures of it, or just search "Metal Gear REX" and you will get tons of images. I personally recommend playing at least MGS1 (there is a PC port available) or MGS1: The Twin Snakes (A remake with enhanced graphics on the Gamecube).

Finally, I'm aware 3rd edition is outdated, but the Spaceship design system didn't seem specific enough for something like a Metal Gear. Thanks for the 4e stats, Ryujin. I'm hoping to create a bunch of GURPS Metal Gear stuff independant of what version of GURPS you use. I still use the 3e books, because I don't have the money right now to invest in the 4e ones. The MTHEL-FE irks me a bit, as in the game it is a continuous beam rather than a series of 4 shots. Oh well. My version of REX's Railgun is a launch tube, as a 705mm gun would weigh far too much. The fact that it is electromagnetic is simply a special effect in these statistics.

The weapon statistics I took from the Metal Gear Wiki, as well as Wikipedia (The rotary cannon and both types of missiles exist in real life, after all), and tried to get their statistics as close as possible by fudging the numbers a bit.

Last edited by RedDragon; 07-06-2015 at 10:46 AM. Reason: New Information
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Old 07-06-2015, 11:05 AM   #9
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

@RedDragon: Ah, yeah that makes it a lot easier to read. Just try to keep that in mind for future posts heh, the easier you make it for us the better we can help ya.

Speaking of the MTHEL-FE, now that I've gotten a full night sleep the idea of Rex's laser being 100mW... doesn't make a lot of sense. 100mW is a LOT of power and the lasers rather... questionable... location (seriously, it's pretty much Rex's robo-youknowwhats heh) seems to imply it's main purpose is to be a defensive weapon soooo.... it makes little sense to place such a super powered laser in a location where it's mainly going to be shooting at lightly armored targets and not be able to take advantage of it's huge range (in all honesty they should of put a 50 cal there and put the laser ontop of Rex so it could shoot down missiles....) so I'm thinking it should probably be down graded to only 100 *Kilowatts* instead of *Megawatts*. That would drop damage down to 4d×5(2), range down to 16,000/48,000, weight down to a far more reasonable 300lbs without needing to use the super science option, drop ST to 41M, cost to $150,000 and power per shot down to 322kW.

I'm also having a hard time seeing Rex being able to mount a 700mm cannon given that Rex is only about 15 meters tall and it seems the 700mm thing only comes from secondary sources that stat it somehow shoots a airforce Advanced Cruise Missile... While I don't have the tools (or patience heh) to do an accurate scaling of the railgun I doubt it's much more then 200mm and in that case I'd just say use the 160mm railgun stated in More Ultra Guns and Heavy Weapons found in Pyramid 3/37.

Also lastly nuke damage is a bit off in RAW GURPS since... well... explosive damage is a bit off (originally HP were scaled differently when they were writing 4th edition and explosive damage was scaled to that, they then changed the scaling but didn't have the time to go back and change the explosive damage so they just stuck with it). As it stands explosives scale with the square root of the explosives weight while the should really scale with the cube root so if it matters I can rescale the nuke damage for ya.
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Old 07-06-2015, 11:38 AM   #10
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Default Re: GURPS 3e & 4e Metal Gear Solid

I created a 100 MW laser, then realized it was ludicrously overpowered (I think it had a Max range of 1,000,000 or something), so I just used the Med. Laser Cannon.

The MG Wiki says it fires AGM-129 ACM missiles. According to Wikipedia, the thing is 2 and a half feet wide. I can't really see how else to stat it up, so suggestions and ideas are welcome. I created this thread just so that people can have workable, detailed stuff for Metal Gear campaigns, so I don't need the fixes for a campaign of my own (I'm not planning on running one, at least for a while), but factual stats are appreciated for posterity.

As for the nuke damage, is the 4e revised explosive damage the same as the 3e explosive damage? This stat block is for 3rd edition, so if the damage stated in GURPS Vehicles pp.108-109 is accurate for 3e, I don't think I'll change it.

I think next on the list is a 3e Metal Gear RAY (not sure how to do the water cutter though... Liquid Projector or Laser w/ some rule changes), then maybe 3e & 4e versions of Solid Snake (probably gonna be 450+ points for the first 2 MG & MGS games [lighter and lacquer spray flamethrower implies he has Gadgeteer] , and significantly lower for MGS4, as it seemed a bit less cinematic to me.)

Last edited by RedDragon; 07-06-2015 at 12:20 PM.
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