The following material is an adaptation of mecha from the "Robotech II: the Sentinels; the Malcontent Uprisings" comic book series published by Eternity Comics in 1989. Please feel free to use, copy, and distribute it as you see fit. All I ask is that you give proper credit and do not claim that it is your own work. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

THE STINGER
(MALCONTENT ZENTRAEDI COMBAT MECHA)

RPG Stats by DAVE DEITRICH (deitrich@mcs.net)
Based on original mecha designs by BILL SPANGLER and MICHAEL LING

BACKGROUND

After Khyron's suicidal attack on New Macross and the Food Riots of 2015, the United Earth Government made a concentrated effort to confiscate or destroy all remaining Zentraedi mecha on Earth. They hoped that a lack of mecha combined with the Zentraedi's genetic inability to repair their own war machines would discourage malcontent Zentraedi from attacking, or at least weaken them enough to be easily defeated by RDF peacekeeping forces. Nevertheless, hundreds of Zentraedi mecha escaped the UEG's efforts and were smuggled into the Zentraedi Control Zone in South America. After the Brazilia Massacre in July of 2015, bands of Malcontents used these mecha to strike back at RDF and Southern Cross peacekeeping forces. Still, the UEG hoped that "Malcontent Uprisings" would come to a quick end as more and more Zentraedi mecha were destroyed by Earth forces.

Then, in June of 2016 reports started coming in of attacks on RDF and Southern Cross patrols by jury-rigged suits of powered armor. Where or how these mecha were produced were a complete mystery, with UEG "experts" blaming everyone from E.B.S.I.S. agents to "the advance forces of the Robotech Masters." As the year wore on, the number and deadliness of these mecha (named "Stingers" by RDF Intelligence) increased at an alarming rate, until by December of that year they posed a clear and dangerous threat to all RDF forces in the region.

An intensive undercover search by RDF Intelligence eventually revealed that the primary source of Stingers was a Malcontent band called the Scavengers. The Scavengers constantly confounded the experts in Zentraedi psychology and military tactics by devoting nearly all their efforts to constructing mecha (a feat which up till now was considered impossible for Zentraedi) rather than combat which was the Zentraedi imperative. Apparently, the hardships of life in the South American jungles had somehow reawakened the Scavengers' natural inventiveness, which had been suppressed long ago by the Robotech Masters. Over the course of the Uprisings the Scavengers built almost 2,000 Stingers for other Malcontent bands, as well as developed other weapons of destruction for Zentraedi. Two other well-known weapons produced by the Scavengers was an atomic bomb used to destroy the Southlands city Oasis, killing approximately 53,000 people, and a robotic insect with an insanity-producing chemical weapon that almost destroyed Cavern City, the largest city and RDF base in South America. The Scavengers were eventually destroyed in August of 2018 by a combined RDF/Southern Cross/Loyal Zentraedi strike on their base of operations. This became known as the last major battle of the Uprisings, as without support from the Scavengers most of the other Malcontent bands quickly collapsed. No other examples of Zentraedi developing inventiveness were ever discovered on Earth. The few remaining RDF-Zentraedi forces finally rediscovered their inventiveness during the REF's mission to Tirol, where they were stationed on Fantoma's surface to mine monopole ore for the SDF-3.

No two Stingers look exactly alike. All Stingers are constructed from the remains of RDF and/or Zentraedi mecha, sometimes almost without rhyme or reason. However, all Stingers do have some qualities in common. They are all roughly humanoid shaped, with two arms, two legs, a head and a main body. All Stingers are capable of flight, with thrusters mounted in a backpack-like assembly on the back of the mecha. Almost all Stinger weapons are mated directly to the mecha's body. It is extremely uncommon to see a Stinger with a hand-held weapon, even though most of them are equipped with hands or grasping units (the hands are usually used for grasping supplies during raids).

Almost all Stingers are located in South America, specifically in the Zentraedi Control Zone. From there they launch hit-and-run attacks against RDF bases and transports. They also stage "harassing" attacks on any RDF forces that enter the Zone. Stingers never attack alone; they will always be found in groups of no less than four. Large groups of Stingers are also uncommon, unless they are defending a Malcontent base or Stinger production facility. Stinger pilots know that their mecha are no match for RDF mecha in a straight fight, so they will always use terrain and cover to maximum effect. Stingers are quickly proving to be a major problem for RDF and Southern Cross peacekeeping forces. The location and destruction of all Stinger production facilities is of maximum importance to all UEG forces in the region.

Due to the mandatory micronization of Zentraedi living on Earth, the Scavengers intentionally scaled the Stingers for use by micronized Zentraedi. This also made them very popular to Black Marketeers, who continued to support a few of them after the fall of the Scavengers. The last known sighting of a Stinger was two years after the end of the Second Robotech War, when a combined E.B.S.I.S./Zentraedi force tried to steal protoculture from an understaffed Southern Cross base in Mexico. It is unknown but highly doubtful that any Stingers survived the Invid Wars and still exist on Earth.

RPG STATS

Vehicle Type: Non-transformable Battloid
Crew: One (MICRONIZED Zentraedi Only!)

MDC BY LOCATION: 

    Head                   10+1D6x10           (40 avg.)
    Shoulders (2)          20+2D6x10           (90 avg.)
    Arms (2)               20+1D6x10           (50 avg.)
    Hands (2)              1D6x5               (15 avg.)
    Upper Legs (2)         30+2D6x10           (100 avg.)
    Lower Legs (2)         30+3D6x10           (130 avg.)
(1) Main Body              120+2D6x10          (190 avg.)
    Pilot's Compartment    2D6x10              (70 avg.)
(2) Thruster Pack          40+1D6x10           (70 avg.)

NOTES:

  1. Destruction of the main body will shut the mecha down completely.
  2. The thruster pack contains the jet thrusters for the mecha. Destruction of the thruster pack results in the loss of flight and thruster-assisted leaps.

SPEEDS:

Note: Multiply mph by 1.6 to get kph. Multiply feet by 0.3 to get meters. Multiply lbs by 0.45 to get kg.

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

  1. MAIN AND AUXILIARY WEAPONS. Since Stingers are built entirely from salvaged mecha, their armament is extremely variable. To determine a Stinger's armament, roll 2D8 to determine the number of weapon systems the Stinger is equipped with. Then for each system roll 2D6 and consult the table below to determine the actual weapon. Stinger weapons may be located anywhere on the mecha, but are usually built into the arms and shoulders of the unit. All reference pages refer to pages in the original Robotech RPG book. Note that some systems require two spaces due to their size.

    ROLLWEAPONDAMAGERANGEPAYLOADREFERENCE
    2Raidar-X Laser Arm *2D10/4D10/6D108 milesUnlimitedPage 63
    3Zentraedi P-Beam Cannon4D104000 ftUnlimitedPage 85
    4Triple-Barrel Pulse Lasers3D62000 ftUnlimitedPage 92
    5Zentraedi Impact Cannon2D84000 ft40Page 91
    6Zentraedi Assault Rifle1D6/2D6/4D64000 ft200Page 84
    7GU-11 Gun Pod3D6/6D6/1D6x104000 ft20/10/5Page 47
    8SR Missile Launcher PodVariesVaries12Page 60
    9SR Missile Launcher PodVariesVaries21Page 92
    10MR Missile Launcher PodVariesVaries6Page 58
    11MR Missile Launcher PodVariesVaries20Page 53
    12PBC-11 P-Beam Cannon *5D10+252 milesUnlimitedPage 58

    * Counts as TWO weapon systems. Roll again if only one weapon space is available.

  2. OPTIONAL HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. Punch does 1D6 M.D., Body Block does 1D6 M.D., Kick does 1D6 M.D., Leap Kick does 2D4 M.D., Stomp does 1D4 M.D., but is limited to targets no more than 12 feet tall.

STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR STINGERS:

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT:

Roll 2D6 three times on the following table to determine additional systems the Stinger is equipped with. If a particular system is rolled twice, re-roll until three unique systems are choses.
  1. COMBAT COMPUTER: The Stinger is equipped with a combat computer that can store and analyze data during combat with hostile forces. The combat computer tracks and identifies specific enemy targets, and has a database of over 200 images stored in memory. The computer can identify and track up to 20 targets simultaneously. The computer provides an additional +1 to hit and +1 to dodge in addition to the bonuses listed below.
  2. ESCAPE POD: The entire cockpit of the Stinger is a detachable escape pod that can be jettisoned when the mecha is destroyed. The pod is NOT equipped with thrusters, but is equipped with a parachute to provide a soft landing in case of ejection in an atmosphere. The pilot of the Stinger must manually trigger the cockpit ejection sequence when his craft is destroyed. The pod is NOT automatically ejected when the main body MDC reaches zero.
  3. HOMING SIGNAL: The Stinger is equipped with a homing device that allows other Stingers who know the broadcast frequency of the beacon to locate and track the craft. The range of the signal is 50 miles (80 km).
  4. OPTICS: THERMAL IMAGER: Range: 2000 feet (610 m). A passive optical heat sensor that detects infrared radiation projected by warm objects and converts that data into a false-color visible image. The system enables the pilot to see in the dark, in shadows, and through smoke, and also adds a +10% bonus to pilots using a tracking skill.
  5. OPTICS: INFRARED: Range: 2000 feet (610 m). This optical system projects a beam of infrared light that is invisible to the normal eye, but detectable by the mecha's sensors. The system allows the pilot to detect hidden/concealed objects by their IR reflectiveness. The beam will be visible to anyone with IR sensitive optics, however.
  6. OPTICS: NIGHT VISION: Range: 2000 feet (610 m). A passive light image intensifier that emits no light of its own, but relies on ambient light which is electronically amplified to produce a visible picture.
  7. EXTERNAL AUDIO PICKUP: Range: 300 ft (91.5 m). A sound amplification system that can pick up normal conversation up to 300 feet away.
  8. SELF-DESTRUCT: To prevent capture of the Stinger by enemy forces, the pilot can activate the mecha's self-destruct system, which will cause the fighter to explode after a delay of up to 60 minutes (time is set by the pilot). The explosive damage is contained within a 100 foot (30 m) area and inflicts 2D6x10 M.D. to everything within the radius of the explosion. The Stinger will be totally obliterated by the explosion. Note that Zentraedi pilots are very fond of crashing Stingers into bases or mecha and activating the self-destruct in an attempt to take out enemies with them when escape is impossible.
  9. HEAT AND RADIATION SHIELDS: Special shielding prevents the penetration of life threatening heat and radiation. A radiation detection and alarm system are linked with the shields and will sound an alarm if there is a rupture in the shields and what the levels of radiation are.
  10. TACTICAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM: The Stinger's cockpit is pressurized, and also provides additional air feeds to the pilot's flight suit that provides him with pressurized breathing.
  11. LASER TARGETING SYSTEM: Range: 50 miles (80 km). Used for increased accuracy in the striking of enemy targets. Provides a +2 bonus to hit in addition to the below bonuses.

COMBAT BONUSES FOR STINGER FIGHTER TRAINING:

DAVE DEITRICH
http://www.mcs.net/~deitrich/index.html
deitrich@mcs.net		 Version 2.1 - Last Updated
Friday, 18-Jan-08 02:59:03 PST