I've had some skills thrown at me that are in fact listed in BattleTech sources books that I have. In those cases, I can compare with my copy. However, in the event that you have a source book that I do not, you must accompany your request with a scanned image of all appropriate pages. This is a House Rule that I have used for many years that I put in place to prevent being taken advantage of. If you do not have a scanner, then find a friend (or enemy) who does, and get the corresponding pages scanned and email them to me. Please be kind, and have images in either GIF, JPG or JPEG formats as others like BMP and TIF can be rather large in file size.
This is not a complete list, it can be updated at any time. Do not ask what sources the follow skills and others that could be added later, are, because I will not tell you. In my opinion, they are like the slogan for Ontario, Canada..."Yours To Discover."
It is possible to come up with brand new skills. New skills will be worked out in cooperation between player and GM. The GM reserves the right to refuse a new skill for any reason, or none at all, even after the details have been resolved (legal stuff to cover my butt).
| Skill | Description | Power Points |
| Maneuvering Ace | MechWarriors with Maneuvering Ace ability are especially good at executing quick turns and maneuvering in tight confines. Any unit with this ability can perform the lateral shift maneuver, which normally is available only to QuadMechs. Such units also receive a -1 target number modifier on Piloting Skill Rolls made to avoid skidding. | 1 |
| Weapon Specialist | A pilot with the Weapon Specialist ability is exceptionally proficient with a single type of weapon. The player must choose one specific weapon, such as Medium Laser, Small Pulse Laser, AC/5, SRM 4 Streak, etc. Apply a -2 to-hit modifier to all attacks the units makes with the chosen weapon. | 1 for the first, 2 for the second, 3 for the third...5 weapon maximum |
| Tactical Genius | A pilot with Tactical Genius may re-roll an Initiative Roll once per turn. The second result stands, even if it is worse than the first roll result. | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Martial Arts / Mech | This is more finess version of hand to hand combat in a BattleMech, and can only be purchased with Power Points. QuadMechs cannot be used in conjunction with this skill. Skill bonus for Martial Arts / BattleMech may be higher than that of Piloting / BattleMech.
Damage from standard physical attacks are standard as well as to-hit modifiers. The pilot with this skill can perform aerial maneuvers, provided their BattleMech is equipped with Jump Jets and weighs no more than 65 tons. Total number of Jump Jets MUST equal Walking MP, must be a minimum of 4 and Jump Jets must be standard. If the BattleMech fits the requirements a pilot can execute the following, however, no weapon attacks are allowed unless otherwise stated: Jump Kick - Use DFA pilot modifiers, if successful, normal kick damage is applied to Punch Locations Table (reroll Head hits). Spin Kick - Use DFA pilot modifiers, if successful, normal kick damage is applied to regular Hit Locations Table (Head hits allowed). Spin Turn - With the assistance of the 'Mechs Jump Jets, the pilot can turn three hex facings in either direction at a cost of 2 MP instead of 3. May only spin turn on a Walk or Run, and may only do this once per round. Weapon attacks are made at a +1 to-hit modifier after a Spin Turn is made. Attacks against units conducting a Spin Turn suffer no additional modifiers. Note: Whenever one of the above moves are committed, 2 Heat Points are generated, as pilots are trained to get the most out of their Jump Jets. All standard Jump Jet use follow standard heat rules. If the BattleMech weight is 30 tons or less, AND has a movement of 8/12/8 or greater with at least 1 Jump Jet in each leg, as well as fitting all other requirements, the pilot can execute the following moves in addition to those listed above. Summersault Kick - Use DFA pilot modifiers, if successful, double kick damage is applied to Punch Location Table (Head hits allowed). Generates 6 points of heat. If piloting roll fails, BattleMech suffers Level 2 fall damage, in five point increments. Back Flip - This is in evading maneuver. All attacks made against a unit performing a Back Flip are made at a +4. The BattleMech moves 3 hexes straight backwards and faces the same hex direction it had at the start of the flip. Attacks from a unit performing a Back Flip are at a +3, and automatically have their initiative reduced to 1 plus standard bonuses. Generates 8 points of heat. Piloting roll required at a +1 modifier. If piloting roll fails, BattleMech suffers the equvalent of a 5 hex skid. Roll for facing after a fall, apply damage, and place unit 3 hexes back from starting point. |
3 |
| Intuitive Marksmanship | A Mechwarrior with this ability is adept at calculating lead times, and is more likely to have their shots hit the �Main Body� of the BattleMech. Rather than pepper the opponent�s Vehicle in a spread of locations, the incoming fire tends to accumulate to the "Center Mass", this removes the chance for the instant kill of the head or the lucky critical hit, in exchange for attrition based on the law of averages.
The pilot makes a moment to interpret the movement of their target and gently leads the target more accurately with their weapons. This results in all location hit rolls being modified in the following manner: 2 through 6 > +1 added to roll before consulting the Determine Hit Location Table 7 > No change 8 through 12 > -1 added to roll before consulting the Determine Hit Location Table This standard applies to all location rolls, Front, Rear, Right Side and Left Side. There are no alterations when attacking from the side, simply use the above alterations as is. This means that a roll of 2 on 2D6 automatically becomes 3, resulting in no chance at all in obtaining a critical hit off the armour, and it also means that a roll of 12 on 2D6 automatically becomes 11, resulting in no chance at all in obtaining a hit to the target�s cockpit. This is automatic when using this ability. To use the ability, the player must clearly declare that they are doing so. Using this ability takes up a little time, resulting in a �6 to the pilot�s initiative roll to account for the time taken to calculate lead time correctly. Also, there is a +1 to-hit modifier attached to all weapon attacks during that round. This rule cannot be used during physical attacks, and may not be used when BattleMech Kick Location Table or BattleMech Punch Location Table is in effect. Pilots using this ability cannot track more than one target, and that target must be a BattleMech. If the ability is used illegally, all penalties will be assessed as though the pilot was using the ability, however, the desired effects on the Hit Location Table will not be included. Players cannot "Seize the Initiative" and use this ability at the same time. |
3 |
| Red Line Pilot | Redline Pilots are mech warriors who are experts at pushing there mech beyond normal heat ranges. See the new chart below: |
3 |
| Speed Demon | A pilot with the Speed Demon ability can really pour it on! As long as the unit makes NO WEAPONS or PHYSICAL ATTACKS during a turn, it can add 1 to its Running MP. The Speed Demon ability provides no bonus to a unit's Evading MP. | 1 |
| Melee Specialist | A MechWarrior with the Melee Specialist ability has spent many hours perfecting the difficult art of BattleMech melee combat and is proficient at physical attacks of all kinds. Increase by 1 point, the damage from all physical attacks made by the such units. Additionally, reduce by 1, the attacker-movement modifier when the unit is making physical attacks (the movement modifier cannot drop below 0). |
1 |
| Dodge | A MechWarrior with the Dodge ability has both refined his/her ability to pilot their machine, and learn to anticipate an enemy attack and learn to lean away from it. Also, the pilot has learned to use this knowledge outside their machine as well. This ability is not always successful, is rather limited in its usage and is a GM controlled ability, but it could make a considerable difference in ranged combat. This skill is not applicable to melee combat. This is GM controlled because it could bog down the game as the Dodge ability is usable once each combat turn, both inside and outside of their BattleMech. The first attacker against the pilot with this ability is the focus of the ability, the first attacker is determined by the initiative roll made prior to the beginning of the combat round. The attacker declares their attack action(s) and attack rolls are made. Of all the attacks, those that are successful against the target, the GM will make one or two dodge rolls agaist the single most damaging weapon (rated by potential - ie: LRM 20 has more damage potential than the Gauss Rifle, so the dodge roll is applied to the LRM 20). The target number is the Mechwarrior's Piloting Skill + Attackers Margin of Success + class of weapon (+1 for Missile, +2 for Ballistic or +3 for Energy weapons). Dodge ability effects are listed below: First Dodge roll fails - Attacker hits the target, damage done as normal First Dodge roll fails but attacker only made a glancing blow - Apply damage under glancing blow rules First Dodge roll succeeds but Second Dodge roll fails - Apply damage as a glancing blow First Dodge roll succeeds but attacker only made a glancing blow - No damage to target First and Second Dodge roll succeeds - No damage to target |
4 |
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Copyright November 26, 2003.