Energy Systems

Mekton Z Energized Systems and Supplies

Energy Systems are systems that can be used to add an additional flavor
to most of the systems that you can build in the Mekton game.  There
are 2 new multipliers and 3 additional systems that can be added to
give a more technical sci-fi oriented flavor. Another document will
show you how you can apply these multipliers to even systems that you
would not even think about giving these effects to.

Some background materials that you might be familiar with that would
use these systems are Star Wars, and the main energy gun on a
Macross/Southern Cross Hover Tank (Which can store energy for multiple
shots but requires a long re-charge time to recover the energy once
used.)

Energy consumption is based on per single use for most systems. Other
systems that are considered to be long duration effects (Such as ECM)
pay energy on a per combat turn basis.

MULTIPLIERS

The two new multipliers are Requires Energy and Adjustable Power.
While requires energy is the multiplier that is the center of the
Energy Systems, Adjustable Power can be used on it's own. Both
multipliers effect the cost and the space of the systems that use
them. Energy consumption is based on the cost of the system after the
multipliers. Most systems that take the Requires Energy multiplier can
also be made fragile. (If you bare with me I can show you how this can
be done with even melee, missile and projectile weapons.)

Requires Energy makes the system naturally energy dependent. What has
been done is the designers have neglected to give each system their
own power feeds and regulators, reducing the system space and cost
considerably. Instead, these systems require a secondary energy source
to power them. The sources can be either your standard energy pools
stored energy, a set of capacitors, or even a power transformer. It is
a x0.5 system multiplier.

Adjustable allows a system to be used at less then maximum power. It
can be a handy feature both as the ability to avoid inflicting
over killing damage or, using it in tandem with Requires Energy, Can
let you get away with firing a weapon with less then full
charge. Adjustable is a x1.1 system multiplier.

Example: A standard 8 damage beam cannon normally costing 12cp takes
both the Requires energy and the adjustable power multiplier.  It will
cost (12cp x .5 x 1.1)= 6.6cp and take up just as many spaces. It will
also cost that much power for each firing of the weapon at maximum
load. But with the adjustable power modification it could also just
use half the power to fire it at half the damage.  In effect, you have
a beam weapon that goes along the entire damage range of 1 kill to 8
kills depending on the power setting.

POWER SYSTEMS

To be able to use these now reduced cost systems, you need to buy
energy storage or creation. These come into effect as your standard
Energy Pool systems, Capacitor Banks, Batteries, and Energy reactors
of coup-links. Any of the above systems can be linked to a required
system at no additional cost as being an integral part.  Or they can
be generalized and link to systems across the mech at the cost of one
cp per system.  Any of them can be bought as fragile items but their
base kills are equal to the base cp cost divided by 2.

The Capacitors are effectively the same as the Energy Pool Battery
system. The Energy Pool Battery System can be bought at the same exact
cost and effect by using the rules of creating Capacitor Banks.
Capacitors cost 1cp for every 5 points of energy storage possible in
the banks. Capacitors over-charged past this amount have the same
effect as over charging energy pools.

Batteries are single use items. They start out having a full charge
but can not be recharged. They must be replaced after they are
used. This makes them more expensive in the long run but their compact
nature and high power to space and weight ratio can make them worth
it. Batteries cost 1cp for every 20 points of energy they can store.

Reactors and Transformers often use the power supply of the mech. But
they can also be considered other types. Combining the requires power
multiplier with an actual power creation system can prove
interesting. Converting psi points to energy and beamed energy from
another mech are possibilities.


MULTIPLIER SYSTEMS MADE REQUIRING POWER

Multipliers can be reduced in cost (and sometimes space) by using the
requires energy multiplier.  A x.2 multiplier made into a (x.2 * x.5)
x0.1 multiple.  The cost in energy this system devours per turn is
equal to the base CP of the mech before multipliers times the multiple
divided by 2.

Example: Active Stealth (Stealth with requires power multiple)

 Base mecha cost is equal to 100cp
 Stealth needing power = x0.1

 The power requirement cost = 100cp x 0.1 / 2 = 5 energy per turn

Another way to figure it is that Stealth is a 20 point system for a
100 base point mecha.  Requires energy brings this cost down to 10
points for the system.  And the energy requirement is half of the
discount. (5ep)

Hopefully the mecha above remembered to purchase some sort of power
feed to power the stealth device.