At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other. Today there is not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone. Not today. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!

I’m adding updates for the release of Tech Revolution.

Jaegers in Starfinder

Step 1: Conceptualize: In Pacific Rim, teams of trained pilots defend the world from regular Kaiju attacks. Let’s start with a Tier 10 Jaeger pilot.

Step 2: Calculate and assign Mech Points. Everyone gets a Tier 10 mech with at least 200 MP (Tech Revolution changed this to 150MP)

Step 2: Select a Frame. Juggernaut 4xTier (40MP same cost)

Step 4: Select Limbs. Powerful Arms (10 same cost) and Biped Heavy Legs (20 same cost)

Step 5: Select a Power Core. MK2 Dynamo power core (20mp same cost).

Step 6: Select Weapons. Jaegers carry a Sword (8d4 damage in melee) 3.5xTier (3.5 MP shouldn’t that have been 35?) the Alloy Sword is 2.5 x Tier or 25MP, Elbow rocket and a Plasmacaster

Step 7: Select Auxiliary Systems. Jaegers didn’t have a lot of these systems.

Step 8: Invest in enhancements. Once I get a decent Jaeger built we can play around with enhancing them.

Spartan Echo (JUGGERNAUGHT frame)
Colossal mech
Initiative +2
Base HP 100 (10xTier); Hardness 2+5(Tier); Shields 23
EAC 25+1+1+1(28); KAC 25+2+1+2(30); Fort 9+1+1; Ref 9+1
Base Speed 40+10(Legs) ft.; Strength +5+3 (Tier)+1(Arms)
Frame Slots 4; Aux Slots 4
Operators 2–6
Cost 4 × tier = 40mp

BIPED, HEAVY
These heavily-armored legs limit speed but grant extreme durability.
Base HP 4 Hit Point Advancement +1  (+13HP @ Tier 10)
EAC +1; KAC +1; Fort +1; Ref +0
Leg Slots 1; Speed +10 ft.; Other Movement None
Trample (2 PP) As a full action, the mech uses the trample universal creature ability. This deals low bludgeoning damage as a mech weapon of a level equal to the mech’s tier. The Reflex save DC equals 12 + 1/2 the mech’s tier.
Cost 2 × tier = 20mp
POWERFUL ARMS
With reinforced plating joints and pistons, these arms provide legendary strength.
Hit Point Progression +0; EAC +1; KAC +2
Arm Slots 2; Melee Attack +1; Ranged Attack +0
Special Increase the mech’s Strength modifier by 1.
Cost 1 × tier = 10mp

Dynamo Mk2 = 20mp

ALLOYED SWORD
This sword is made of the finest adamantine alloy honed to a razor-sharp edge.
Type melee; Special analog, penetrating, thrown (20 ft.)
Damage 8d4+10+9 S; Critical —
Slots 1 (upper limb)
Cost 2.5 × level = 25mp

HAMMERFIST
This block of thrice-forged adamantine with serrated edges can be affixed to the ends of a mech’s limbs and used to pummel enemies.
Type melee Special analog, integrated, penetrating
Damage 8d4+10+9 B; Critical —
Slots 1 (upper limb or lower limb)
Cost 2 × level = 20mp

PLASMA RIFLE
This sleek longarm delivers crackling, flaming death at a high rate of fire.
Type ranged; Range 100 ft.; Special line
Damage 5d10+10 E&F; Critical wound
Slots 1 (frame, upper limb); Capacity 10
Cost 4 × level = 40mp

Using the Tech Revolution costs our Tier 10 Jaeger is 25mp over budget, dropping the Allow Sword and only using the Plasma Rifle, Hammerfist and Hurled objects we can have a basic Jaeger in the new lower budget. If we have two PCs in the Jaeger and corespondingly higher budget then we could add a lot of weapons to our sample Jaeger.

Testing the Tier 10 Jaeger 

Responding out of the San Jose Shatterdome, Spartan Echo races to find a knifehead kaiju (we’re using a C R 12 AHAV) rampaging in downtown. SE wins initiative, they engage inside 100ft and SE shoots KH with the plasma rifle, rolls 1d20+8+10+2 (1/5 Tier)(BAB or Piloting) (no weapon bonus)(no arm bonus)(no leg bonus). SE rolls a 10+20 (30) as a plasmacaster against EAC of 26 and gets through. SE rolls 5d10+10 (37). Knifehead takes the 37 incoming points, knifehead’s hardness of 15 is subtracted so 22 points penetrate and do HP damage to the kaiju. knifehead is down to 178 HP. This fight is going to go the distance.

Knifehead responds with a flying spines (machinegun)from its back 1d20+26 for 10+26(36) it hits Spartan Echo doing 3d10+12 (28) subtract 7 for SE’s hardness and it takes 21 points, leaving it with 79. Spartan better kill this thing quickly.

Unlike our Gundam examples, Jaegers are 2 seaters and the copilots both get to act. The sword or the Elbow rocket both do 8d4+19 (39) and both are penetrating weapons that ignore 10 points of KH’s hardness that’s 34 reducing the creature further to 144.

We need a mech sheet, we need mech cheat sheets to help us remember the extra mech actions.

In the movies someone running the science station at the Shatterdome would send information to the Jaeger’s cockpit. They’d ID the kaiju with a scan action and tell the pilots about any weaknesses it has. So in the setting you have a kaiju-ologist with life science that would make the check against the monster.

The called shot action only works against other mechs unless your kaiju has a weak point, something the GM will let you use the action for.

A hurled object like a car does more damage (6d6+19(40)) than the sword or the elbow rocket, and it goes farther!, but a hurled object is not a penetrating weapon. Update! So in Tech Revolution Hurl has a 30ft range increment, better than the Buzzblade, Doshko, Scythe, Swords 20ft, worse than the Spears 40ft, and Hurled weapons can’t be returrned by mechs with a Weapon Core spending power points.

Our Jaeger pilots would do well to remember to Aim to ensure every swing counts, the knifehead isn’t going to be missing any of its attacks, they can’t afford to either. A Devastating Hit takes the 8d4 sword or rocket elbow become a 6d6 attack which is only one point higher on average, and four more points maximum, the 5d10 plasmacaster becomes 5d12.

Spartan Echo needs to get some lucky hits in fast or hope another Jaeger from a nearby shatterdome comes quickly. In a party of 4 players with 2 Jaegers and an average party level of 10 can do 56-68 points per round to the kaiju each they should be able to defeat it in a few rounds and hopefully not lose any Jaegers.

Pacific Rim has kaiju based EMP, mech based interference, a lot more variation in Jaegers than the generic Gypsy Danger stand-in that is Spartan Echo, we’ll take a look at the kaiju that Paizo made for Pathfinder and Starfinder and maybe spec out the systems that are used by the other Jaegers or would be required to accomodate a Pacific Rim style game.

The Jaegers, what we know

Mark 1-3 had nuclear reactors, Mark 4-5 didn’t.

Mark 1 — the early, unshielded Jaegers
Cherno Alpha —  two pilots — heavy armor 10 — strong arms 10 — slow 3 — flamers — electrified fists
Coyote Tango (コヨーテタンゴ) — two pilots — medium armor 4 — strong arms 7 — speed 5 — huge canons — energy caster
Horizon Brave — two pilots — heavy armor 6 — medium arms 4 — supposedly fast 8 — heavy missiles/cryo cannons —
Romeo Blue — two pilots — heavy armor 6 — strong arms 7 — slowest 2/heaviest Jaeger — Los Angeles shatterdome — gatling gun

Mark 2 — the missing generation
No on screen or toy examples, 3 in Latin America (Chile, Panama, Peru) and one in Russia

Mark 3
Gypsy Danger — two pilots — medium armor

Mark 4
Crimson Typhoon — three pilots — medium armor — medium arms — 3x buzzblades — thrusters — plasma cannon

Mark 5 — last of the original Jaegers
Striker Eureka — two pilots — medium armor — medium arms — speed 10 the fastest? — missile launcher — heated blades — brass knuckles — thrusters
Bracer Phoenix — three pilots — heavy armor — machine gun turret — missile launcher — morning star

Mark 6 —  everything after the first movie
Guardian Bravo —two pilots — heavy armor? — energy whip — forearm guns
Titan Redeemer —two pilots — heavy armor — heavy arms — morning star —  forearm guns —  EMP grenade
Gypsy Avenger — two pilots — medium armor — vortex —  gravity gun — elbow rocket —  chain sword — plasma chainsaws —  missiles
November Ajax — two pilots — medium armor — medium arms — mecha taser like the EMP cannon —  we don’t see anything else in the film.
Obsidian Fury — two pilots? — medium armor — medium arms —  plasma chainsaws —  signal jammer — missiles — particle cannon —  claws
Valor Omega — two pilots — heavy armor — arm guns —  we don’t see anything else in the film.

Mark 7 —  experimental Jaegers
Saber Athena — two pilots — light armor — fast limbs — twin katanas —  particle cannon — thrusters

More to come.

If you have any feedback about this post or our books please feel free to contact us.

Paul

Evilrobotgames at Gmail.com