Welcome to Vanguard Quest, a simple cooperative mech skirmish quest. New players are welcome any point - if you want to join, please review the latest assembly options and post your loadout! Thank you for playing.
> PLAGUE EXTERMINATION. [### OFFICIAL - MOCA/MARTIAN ORBITAL CLOSURE AUTHORITY###]/[GCC INT]. "A PAIR OF PLAGUE CONTAMINATED TERRAIN PROCESSOR UNIT ARE APPROACHING a GCC ARCOLOGY. PRIORITY PAYMENT. [450 MU], PRIMARY TARGET SALVAGE FORBIDDEN." >WHITE/RED
After some careful consideration, you accept the plague extermination mission. The pay was quite generous for a MOCA contract and for good reason: You had hazy childhood memories of seeing groups of two or three terrain processor units migrating along the outskirts of the cavern cities - as slow and implacable as the red planet's long-dead glaciers. The sheer amount of mass and plating that each processing unit carried would be a potent defense against attack, and you suspect that plague infestation would have eagerly co-opted much of their internal machinery for defensive purposes. Destroying two of them before they could breach an inhabited arcology would be risky, difficult work - but also the precise kind that you and most of your mercenaries had signed up for so many years ago.
Your company had precisely twenty four hours to prepare. You move through the station's transit umbilical into your transport, where your engineering teams were sprawled across the mech bay to prepare your frames for ground deployment. Automated manipulators install pieces of plating still red-hot from nanoscale fabrication. Weapons, bereft of ammunition, hang from overhead gantry bays as technicians calibrate power lines and ammunition feeds to fit different frames. It was frantic - certainly - but like your pilots, the crews had been pressure-tested over the past few months. You quickly thumb through a summary of each pilot's loadout:
>CORE/L/LANCER-MOD1. [ LOAD LIMIT: 6 | HP: 1 | MOVE: 3 (+1) | ++ EVASIVE ] An outdated but reliable vanguard model with respectable speed and modest load capacity, produced en-masse by the Martian armed forces. This model has received extensive modernization upgrades.
>CORE/L/DUELIST. [ LOAD LIMIT: 3 | ARM SLOTS ONLY | HP: 1 | MOVE: 2 (+1) | INBUILT RADAR + 1 HIT | INBUILT SHIELD NO CRIPPLE PENALTY | HIT TWICE WITH MELEE WEAPON] A second generation vanguard model optimized for melee performance. Aggressive weight reduction choices render it incompatible with standard modular shoulder/back weapons, compromising flexibility.
>CORE/M/ROOK. [ LOAD LIMIT: 7 | HP: 2 | MOVE: 1 (+1)] An oudated but reliable vanguard model with high load and passable armor, produced en-masse by the Martian armed forces.
>CORE/M/HUNTER. [ LOAD LIMIT: 6 | HP: 2 | + HIT | MOVE: 1 (+1)] A second generation vanguard model popular among mercenaries and corporate line units. Flexible, but does not excel in any specific area.
>CORE/H/ERRANT. [ LOAD LIMIT: 8 | HP: 3 | + BASE DMG | MOVE: 1 (+1) | -- EVASION ] A transitional vanguard model based on the DUELIST frame. Performance characteristics have been tuned for aggressive mid-ranged combat.
> SNIPER RIFLE//FURY. [LOAD: 3 | +1 DMG/ALL | +2 HIT/ALL | -1 EVASION | BONUS DMG EQUAL TO HIT ROLL MINUS TARGET DC. CAN TARGET ENEMIES IN ADJACENT NODES WITH -3 HIT PENALTY.] [L-ARM ONLY]
> WEAPON SET//DAYBREAK > THERMAL BLADE-R. [LOAD: 2 | +2 DMG/ALL | -1 HIT/ALL | +1 DMG PER ATTACK THIS CONTRACT, UP TO +5 CUMULATIVE] > PARRY SHIELD-L. [LOAD: 1 | +1 SHIELD | 3 TURN RECHARGE | GAIN +4 HIT ON NEXT COMBAT ROLL AFTER SUSTAINING DAMAGE]
>>6396796 >CORE/H/ERRANT. [ LOAD LIMIT: 8 | HP: 3 | + BASE DMG | MOVE: 1 (+1) | -- EVASION ] LEFT ARM >HANDGUN//TN-REVOL. [LOAD: 0 | +1 DMG/HEAVY] RIGHT ARM >RIFLE//ESSEN. [LOAD: 2 | +2 DMG/ALL | +1 HIT/HEAVY | -1 EVASION] RIGHT BACK >RADAR//TRACER [LOAD: 2 | +3 HIT/HEAVY] [R-BACK ONLY] LEFT BACK >ROTARY CANNON//PITONE [LOAD: 4 | +4 DMG/ALL | -1 EVASIVE | REROLL HIT DICE ON EVEN HIT ROLLS. EVERY EVEN ROLL DEALS +3 ADDITIONAL DAMAGE.] FCS >FCS/BML-CL [ 2D4 | ++ HIT/HEAVY ] COLOR >DUSTWALKER ASSAULT [WHITE/SCARLET/CYAN] CALLSIGN >FAMINE
"BIGGER IS...BETTER...NEED TO KILL **PLAGUE**, AND TO **KILL** IT **FAST**" "I AM HERE TO CUT THE *GRISTLE*. TO GET TO THE DELICIOUS MEAT INSIDE." "...ALSO, I THINK MY MECH LOOKS CUTE LIKE THIS. SHUT UP."
ARMS: > SNIPER RIFLE//FURY. [LOAD: 3 | +1 DMG/ALL | +2 HIT/ALL | -1 EVASION | BONUS DMG EQUAL TO HIT ROLL MINUS TARGET DC. CAN TARGET ENEMIES IN ADJACENT NODES WITH -3 HIT PENALTY.] [L-ARM ONLY]
> HANDGUN//TN-REVOL. [LOAD: 0 | +1 DMG/HEAVY]
BACK: > CRUISE MISSILE//YELLOWSTONE [LOAD: 2 | 2 USES | ON USE, INFLICT 3 GUARANTEED DMG AGAINST TARGET IN CURRENT OR ADJACENT NODE.]
> TARGET DESIGNATOR//TATTLE [LOAD: 1 | ON HIT, REDUCE TARGET DC BY 1 FOR ALL PILOTS] [R-BACK ONLY].
FCS: > FCS/BML-LR [ 1D6 | ++++ HIT/LIGHT ]
COLOR: > DUSTWALKER STANDARD [RUST/DARKGREY/GREEN]
"I MOLT MY SHELL AFRESH AND REVIVE IN NEW FORM, BUT MY GOUT SHALL CONTINUE IN ME. ALL THINGS I FEEL AND PERCEIVE AND LEARN WILL BE MINE OWN FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS."
ARM >SNIPER RIFLE//FURY. [LOAD: 3 | +1 DMG/ALL | +2 HIT/ALL | -1 EVASION | BONUS DMG EQUAL TO HIT ROLL MINUS TARGET DC. CAN TARGET ENEMIES IN ADJACENT NODES WITH -3 HIT PENALTY.] [L-ARM ONLY] >LASER RIFLE//AXIS. [LOAD: 3 | +9 DMG/ALL | -1 EVASION | 1 TURN RECHARGE]
BACK >N/A
FCS >FCS/HIGHROLL [1D12]
COLOR >DUSTWALKER ASSAULT [WHITE/SCARLET/CYAN]
CALLSIGN >KING KRAB
“Hither came a mercenary, megalithic, pale-skinned, gun in hand, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the dusty paths of Mars under his iron feet.”
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PillowID:WZF8Lbul04/12/26(Sun)08:03:05
>>6396847 yeah that would be more useful then the revolver so sure I'll switch.
>>6396083 "In reverent praise and sorrowful memorial of Mars That Was, your humble servant Swallow, a Lancer Vanguard lieutenant, bows and aerates your parched soil with his beak, an offering of blood planted. With star-heavy sincerity, and heart as light as solar wind, I report to the heavenly body below: though your spirit has ridden the holy mecha into the distant void, and your state is no more, the wind blows, the sun still shines, and your people still remember their martial virtue. In this time of Red Tide, we cannot help but carry guilt for failure, and fantasize of bygone halcyon days, unable to meet the demands of your divine burden. Without fail, each cycle you turned about the Sun, plagued yet diligent - choking bile rises and my gizzard congests, for how can repay such dignity and redeem ourselves except in total victory?! Now, as the dust of distant defeat and recent victory settles, I come helmet in hand to pray before your mediator, as an example for this poor uninitiated lost soul beside me. I tell you: your sacred instruction endures, the military's faith has not wavered, the spirit of Mars still lives on in the Vanguard! Your great institution's last word has been heard, PURGE THE PLAGUE, EXPROPRIATE THE CORPORATIONS, RESTORE THE STATE, SO RAIN MAY ONE DAY FALL, AND RIVERS FLOW ONCE AGAIN!"
"Assailed by all sides, mech and sigil appropriated by foreign mercenaries of no loyalty and less skill, all seemed lost as the rites of dust and civilization appeared to vanish into the vacuous maw of the void! But then! A cry for help went up on the noticeboard of the Nomenklatura-turncoat profiteers! A citizen in need, a technologist unjustly detained! We descended, with gun and shield in hand, passing into the shadow of the labyrinth of night, with the raiment of war veiled over us, sensors blinded by dust, eyes peeled. Due to our keen eyes and cunning minds, the enemy's sheltered den of evil did not evade our vigilance. Their will shattered before our terrible visage, for they saw your guiding hand at our backs. Alas, in our haste we did not blind our enemy before slaying him, for he let out a great cry, which brought black-clad bandits plummeting down through the watchful eyes of the plague's overseer. Circling about us like the shadows of lesser worlds, they did not notice your noble armigers cloaked in dust, and so were undone. They rained fire, yet your death-defying servants walked between the rain drops. We return victorious, for your pennant-bearers expropriated this villain who would guise themselves as almsgivers, the plaguewatcher has been delivered into salvation's arms, the lady Truth baring a hint of her plumage. All shall be revealed in time."
>>6396909 >>6396083 "May your spirit in heaven be consoled, for we are armed once more in glory! Your relic DAYBREAK has been recovered! Your prideful servant, GAMBLER roused our hunger the very next morrow. Like knight of yesteryear, we respectfully sought comfort in the fine establishment known as WAFFLE PLANET. In our way of nourishment lay the REDTEETH, formerly a cohort in the service of your magnificence, led by the ARCHTRAITOR WHISTLER. He declined all offers to break bread or of equitable seating, as he could not put aside the wrongs of the past that scarred the hearts of our great captains. I wish I could say he fought well, but frankly he was a smug coward who let his steadfast attendants do all the fighting for him. They were not much of a fight, except for a terrifying giant gnome named TINY, who died as he lived, fighting. Though I dare not flatter, I must say the waffles were quite excellent, no doubt due to the fryhouse's proximity to your beauty."
"Our hearts beating as one, bellies filled, spirits high, we march forward now to scourge the unholy plague mites marring your skin. Perfectly equipped, we fly forth, armed with the freshly consecrated works of the nebulous Foundation, death-dealing irradiators and sunscorching lances, armoured in the greatest mechs the solar system has ever seen, freshly forged for the sole purpose of war, our faith unbroken, we, the Final Vanguard, descend to calm the frontier once more. In your name with lance the boils from your holy flesh, forgetting our better selves to don your red mask of WAR. May your regolith quiet it's tremors, for your loyal and ever-righteous bring order to this chaotic age. Your loyal servant Swallow cannot contain joy, grief, and rage at this age of upheaval and transition, for your restoration soon dawns. Once more, I bow my head, again and again, and again and again, breathing life into your soil with the blood of your fallen foes! RISE O' MARS, WAKEN ABOVE THE QUIET OF DREAMS, FOR THE CLAMOUR OF WAR AND DIN OF BATTLE SOUNDS! WE CALL YOUR EXALTED NAME, AND CARRY YOUR WILL AS OUR PRIDE! HEAR OUR SONG OF WAR, AND BY OUR MIRACLES BE WOKEN!"
>>6396396 >>6396417 >>6396567 "T-there's no way it is aliens! Maybe the foundation just has a really deep bunker! Nothing is confirmed yet!"
*Quietly...*: "Oh man, my wallet..."
*Overdramatic birb sobs*
>>6396479 "IT'S NOT ALIENS! It could be anything! Folks were landing on Mars well before the first terraformers arrived and mass settling began. Could be radical techno-syndicalists, or early arriving corpos digging their personal doomsday bunker or off-the-books research blacksite. Nothing is settled yet!"
>>6396402 "Once again, I do not have teeth. So I'm safe."
>>6396916 "DO YOU BELIEVE THE PLAGUE WOULD SPARE YOUR BEAK? YOUR BRITTLE BONES? YOUR FEATHERS? YOUR TONGUE?" "BRUSH YOUR BEAK 50029 TIMES A WEEK FOR MAXIMUM SHINE."
>>6396904 "A NEW HUMAN!!! WELCOME TO THE SHOW!!!! YOU'LL BE AN EXCELLENT FRIEND ALONGSIDE RUINS, LAMBER, CYLOPS, AND CRAB!"
I have a question about Grenade Launcher's [MULTIHIT] UP TO 2 ADJACENT UNITS ON HIGHEST DICE ROLL. If I roll 3d2, how does it work? Multihit on 6? Multihit if any die that rolls 2? Stacking Multihit for every die that rolls 2?
>>6396918 "Um. Thanks?" With multilensed goggles hiding the way his gaze desperately avoids FAMINE's incredible display of teeth, he tries to pick up on the subject matter without drawing attention to his own molars.
>>6396916 "Aliens? Sorry, out of loop. Interview took, a while."
>>6396929 Multihit is on the maximum result you could get with the dice. It's functionally a 'crit' mechanic. So on BML-CL, it'd be when you roll a 8 (4+4). BML-LR, a 6. SHINKAI, a 7 (2+2+2+1). On Multi, 4 or 5, since it's meant to be the multihit/crit option. Highroll, when you roll a 12.
>>6396783 CORE >>CORE/M/HUNTER. [ LOAD LIMIT: 6 | HP: 2 | + HIT | MOVE: 1 (+1)] L-ARM > SNIPER RIFLE//FURY. [LOAD: 3 | +1 DMG/ALL | +2 HIT/ALL | -1 EVASION | BONUS DMG EQUAL TO HIT ROLL MINUS TARGET DC. CAN TARGET ENEMIES IN ADJACENT NODES WITH -3 HIT PENALTY.] [L-ARM ONLY] R-BACK > RADAR//OCULUS [LOAD: 3 | +3 SCOUTING | +2 HIT/ALL | +1 HIT/HEAVY] [R-BACK ONLY] FCS > FCS/BML-CL [ 2D4 | ++ HIT/HEAVY ] COLOR > DUSTWALKER STANDARD [RUST/DARKGREY/GREEN] CALLSIGN >EARTHLING
Making the mech is always the most agonising part, I want all of those things! Let's see if the sniper build works. Fucked up that instead of downing the space elevator we're gonna do janny work, but I guess TPUs are also big and explode.
>>6396798 >> IRRADIATOR/FULGENT. [LOAD: 2 | +1 DMG/ALL | EACH HIT INFLICTS PERMANENT 4 DMG/TURN. KILLS INFANTRY INSTANTLY.] You better make that beautiful crime against nature shine, Gambler. I want it so bad, but I just can't fit it in. UNLEASH THE MEGA CANCER RAY. >>6396855 >we really need another evasive core that not constructed out of tape and cardboard That thing has 3 movement, which is actually deranged. That's half the map at any given moment +an action. Also, I guess I'll be hanging behind you this mission, that designator helps me a lot.
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EarthlingID:F7eshV2+04/12/26(Sun)11:22:21
>>6396946 >>6396777(OP) >BONUS DMG EQUAL TO HIT ROLL MINUS TARGET DC QM, does that mean only the dice are counted towards potential bonus damage, or the collective hit number with bonuses? If something has 8 DC and no tags, I roll a 6 and then add my +5 to hit, I get 11, do I deal 3 bonus damage for 5 total? Or do I deal only 2 because *the roll* (6) didn't exeed the DC?
>>6396946 I'd probably slap in a revolver in your right slot, since it is just free damage with it being 0 LOAD, and you're already aiming for heavies anyhow.
>>6396949 I'm pretty sure it's your _total_ roll (with your hit mod included) that's calculated. So you'd gain +3 extra damage for hitting a target with DC 8 with a 6+5 roll. Otherwise it'd be a dogshit mechanic.
>>6396945 The main issue is that GRENADE LAUNCHER is the only weapon that does multihit (and the main reason people pick the MULTIHIS FCS is it's just a real consistent roll). I think if we bought more equipment with the multihit tag, it'd probably shine more as a mechanic.
>>6396969 I still stand by my point, Arc doesn't look very good, 2 load and a slot for 2 damage is quite low, especially compared to the alternative, because it's competing with options that actually allow you to hit your target, or do insane damage your back slots, or specifically the left back slot, is much more cheap, usually the last thing to fill in a build though as of right now, the multihit is just not very good as a built, even if it does have it's theoretical niche
>>6396870 Likewise eyepatch. Are you really a cyclops if you have another eye on your hand?
>>6396855 The tradeoffs and knowing how to make it work and what to specialize against is part of the Lancer's balance. Not sure how you'd balance another Evasive mech without just making it straight up better than the Lancer.
>>6396879 >>6396902 Are you taking the Multihit FCS for the high heavy bonuses? 'Cause I don't think it gives multihit to weapons that don't already multihit, it just lowers the threshold to make multihits happen. Which only applies to our grenade launcher right now, since the arc weapons auto-multihit. >>6396777(OP) Can we get some clarification if that is the case?
"Gambler and a bunch of us have a bet going on the origin of the plague. Loser buys the rest of the company a round. Gambler bet it was aliens, I bet it that it was the corpos that made it, more specifically Mirai Genetics, our first big break employer. Corvid bet against me, said it was the terraforming guilds or something. Gashadokuro bet on the supernatural. So on and so forth."
"Anyways, welcome to the Dustwalkers. Glad to have you. I'm Swallow, as you can see, I'm a bird."
>>6396918 "If you're offering to brush my beak, then be my guest Fami. But I'm not sandpapering my beak like a psycho."
>>6396999 >Are you taking the Multihit FCS for the high heavy bonuses? yes, it has very good bonuses to hit, and, even before when it had a matching average with the FCS/BML-CL, it still offered a better access to the high end of the results
it is less likely to get a result of 8 or better on a 2d4+2 than on a 1d5+4 (or a 1d5+5) it does make it more swingy, but if you *need* to reach the higher amounts to hit the Aces, the 1d5+4 (or +5), serves better with the (possibly accidental) upgrade, it is just a better average on top of all that
>>6396949 >>6396953 Yeah, what Fami said. Think about it, it makes sense that having improved avionics would increase the damage of a *sniper* weapon, more precision and all that. Otherwise it'd just be dogshit against anything but low DC enemies. The opportunity cost makes it not worthwhile. Experienced mercs and Foundie goons have DCs at the edge of what we can reach normally with just a naked FCS of appropriate type, before they got nerfed, we'd have trouble facing the aces even with radars and laser designators. The damage bonus would be meagre.
Also agree multihit FCS being more worthwhile if we bought more grenade launchers or whatever else has it.
>>6396801 "The pic came out great, FAMI! Toldja it would." >>6396904 "Heyo, fresh meat on the board! Welcome to the party, newbie. Y'don't mind if I call ya 'newbie', right? It's a thing." >>6396909 >>6396910 Based Greek Chorus-esque synopsis right here. Way to go, bird >>6396916 "Nyeheheh.... excuses, excuses! Just don't try to wriggle outta' the pot like that deadbeat RUIN, pally." >>6396946 "Bwuh... cancer? Don't joke about that stuff, Ling--that shit'll kill ya." The girl punctuates her response with a long, heavy drag from what might be the eighth cigarette you've seen her smoke today. >>6396870 "Flaunt it if ya got it, that's what I always say. Work it, Cy!"
>>6396929 It's multihit on maximum roll as >>6396940 mentioned - so for a 3D2, only 6 would trigger.
>>6396949 Collective hit. Damage bonus for sniper rifles is equal to total hit roll (dice + all bonuses) - DC
>>6396999 >>6396979 I agree that the arc rifle is slightly undertuned, since multihit damage is usually less reliable than direct damage. I'll give the Arc rifle an extra multihit on max roll as a general buff so that it also benefits from the MULTI FCS.
>>6397000 MULTI is 1d5+4 - that is a mistake on my part.
>>6396946 3 movement is really good when nearing the late game where mostly everything has been scouted, but early game it's not really worth leaving your team in the dust with such a little health pool.
>>6396999 it doesn't have to be better then the lancer, it just needs to be something in between the lancer and the rook. it doesn't need to be as fast as the lancer but it does need a better health pool.
>>6396938 Wait, you got interviewed? Glad to see we’re trying to keep up recruitment standards.
We just had four FNG’s walk in mid-op a few days ago. Two of them quite literally just stepped out from behind a rock with no warning from OBSERVER. Don’t get me wrong, all of them did great and I’m glad to have them, but they all screamed “walk-on” at the time.
Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess. Last mission was a nasty one.
Glad to have you on board, the more the merrier if you ask me!
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OgreID:m/ENAgWQ04/12/26(Sun)17:41:01
>>6397098 >>6397112 I dunno Pillow, if OBSERVER is authorizing mid-mission refits then I could see a use case for high-mobility Frames. Get into the fight, dump your load, do some damage then jet back for repairs. It would make for a great skirmisher loadout.
OBSERVER, would this refit happen to apply to cruise missiles as well? Or would that break our budget?
>>6397116 Hey, yea... interviews? I barely remember my own, but I was fighting a BITCH of a hangover that week... but hey, bossman--if you wanna foist any of those interviews onto any of us, I'm down to make a few newbies sweat a little! You've got enough on your plate! Ooh, or HAZING! We really oughta' do some HAZING!"
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OgreID:m/ENAgWQ04/12/26(Sun)18:00:56
>>6397120 My old captain in the Sprawl Garrison got demoted after he convinced two of our new guys to snort the finest Martian dirt.
I don’t think we should do that though, those poor suckers had nosebleeds for the next two weeks.
Surely you’ve been cooking up some kind of gambling scheme to rope them into?