Oishi the Roninator, roninating the countryside – part 1

So we’re finally at the point where I’m bored of dying and re-playing the same two chapters, knowing full well that when I reach the third or maybe fourth fight I’ll be defeated.

So, my mech is a 4 in all stats instead of the usual balance of 3. Doesn’t that add up to 8 on the two sliders instead of 6? Yeah, it does. This mech isn’t going to solo assault the entire Pacific rim with those crummy stats described in the rules. Then I add the reinforced hull, so that’s a 5 armor. Maybe now I won’t get killed at Ako Base, then again by the shark even though I magically healed and continued, then again by a crab even though I again healed and continued.

So, I make my way through Ako Base again, then to the island where I swear revenge and also fix my radio. Then onward to The Vault where I hope to pick up some awesome weaponry. I go with EMP shielding because I expect that will come in handy, and also the Sun Blade which gives me +1 damage dice when melee fighting. I also get the most important item of all: six new spider repair bots, which heal integrity points and also give +1 to a stat. So the next few times my mech takes damage, I’m gonna use that to also buff up toward a 5 in artillery and a 5 in melee.

So, onward to the Tengu satellite array. The tachikoma guarding the place attack me despite my IFF signal, so I have to destroy them. Fortunately they’re not real mechs so they go down easily. Once I get to the control center, I see lots of dead bodies as if the place has been assaulted on foot. I make my way inside and find the ruffians still trashing the place. A little ninja stealth and WHOOSH off with their heads, and I only take one scratch. Jack in to the satellite array, and there’s the traitor I’m after – in the ruins of Tokyo.

And now we can start playing content I haven’t seen before!

I don’t have a booster rocket this time, so I swim north. A random roll gives me a typhoon, which I escape with some good luck. Then I’m asked mysteriously for a combat roll. Okay…

I pass the test, so I’m not totally shocked by two Ninja class mechs that appear suddenly, not setting off any of my mech’s alarms. Stealth mechs? Neat. Oh, not neat – they’re attacking!

Okay, so this is what I keep saying about the enemies being overpowered. They have a melee of 5 to my (cheating) 4. That means that not only do they win 2/3 of the time, but they roll 5 dice of damage and so do a mean of 3.3 integrity damage apiece each round. After they whittle me from 51 to 39, I use a spider bot and give myself a 5 melee. They then slice-n-dice me down to 19 before I finally destroy them both. Yes, that’s with my 5 melee and my Sun Blade. I spent two spider bots just surviving that one encounter, and that’s with cheating.

Sigh.

I see that the cockpit is intact, so I decide to interrogate the pilot if I can get him of of there. Of course he hears me coming, so another awesome sword fight ensues! Whoosh! Swipe! Ching! I subdue him and grill for information. I get a part of a GPS location, before he lunges at me and I kill him. Damn. But, I also pulled a cloaking device from his mech so that could come in handy if my mech can be stealthy, right?

Onward north, I detect a distress signal coming from the northwest. It’s not really on my route, and I’m not obligated to answer it, but I know gamebooks and no treasure is ever hidden behind “nah, skip it” So of course I have to go. And I’m glad I did! There was a mech battle here, between two black Ninja mechs and a Daimyo class mech outfitted with some rather exotic weaponry! This includes a lightning cannon and also an EMP device for disabling mechs. Awesome.

I press onward into the night, overheating my reactor slightly. I slow down to a cruise, and suddenly something grabs me from above! It’s a giant two-headed bird called a gumyocho, and for some reason it wants this gigantic shiny mech for its nest. But my Sun Blade says no to that, and soon turn the monstrosity into gumyocho McNuggets. Now I really do need to stop for the night,