JAEVA Project

Imagine, if you will a combination of two of the greatest giant robot tales ever told, Pacific Rim and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Now imagine being able to play as pilots in this setting fighting against the Kaiju menace that is at your door. Will you cancel the Apocalypse, or reign it in?

Originally a simple request by an Anon for what system would best run Pacific Rim, it quickly evolved into a crossover of two great end-of-the-world Mech universes. As /tg/ is wont to do, it's expanding into a full system and setting able to represent the original idea, the new combination, or just about any giant robot game you want to play.

The current timeline runs all the way to the beginning of Pacific Rim's plot, with both NERV and the PPDC losing funding and being moved to one base each, located now at the Panama Canal. However, prospective GMs are encouraged to pick anywhere along the timeline, from the dawn of Jaegars and Evas, to the glory days of the war, and possibly in a post-apocalypse future of some sort. Many such ideas are being generated, and will be added to this page as things develop.

The Fluff

[under construction]

Organizations

Assuming you know nothing about either Evangelion or Pacific Rim, you're probably going to be confused by some of the names thrown around in the rest of this page. Let's fix that shall we?

SEELE (from the German word for "soul"): A shadowy organization that has their hands in just about every pie worldwide. They're obsessed with the idea of 'Human Instrumentality,' which boils down to turning humanity into one giant hive-mind. Of course, if they end up in charge of said think tank, that's a nice bonus. They secretly run NERV under the name of the Instrumentality Committee, which NERV is technically answerable to, although because NERV has a bunch of giant robots, SEELE's 'control' is a delicate state.
Gehirn (from the German word for "brain"): A secretive biotechnology research laboratory which operated publicly as the UN Artificial Evolution Laboratory. Their funding and true purpose comes from SEELE. They developed the technologies that would be used in the MAGI and EVA units as part of SEELE's Human Instrumentality Project. They went public (more public, anyway) and became NERV when the Kaiju started attacking.
NERV (from the German word for "nerve"): One of the organizations created in the aftermath of K-day to combat the Kaiju. They build/grow, maintain, and have command of the giant cyborgs classified as Evangelions. Incredibly secretive, NERV does its best to keep all information as hidden as possible, even from its own staff at times. They are based out of massive artificial underground domes call Geofronts that act as the Eva maintenance bays, research labs, command rooms, and as shelters for the civilians the cities they're based in.
PPDC (Pan Planetary Defense Corps): Originally the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. The name was changed once the UN realized that a second rift had opened in the Atlantic Ocean. They maintain and command the giant robots classified as Jaegers. Far more open than their counterpart NERV, the PPDC is based out of large bases known as 'Shatterdomes' which house the Jaegers themselves along with all staff and personal. Due to being run as an actual armed force, the PPDC is generally respected for its professional handling of the Kaiju War.

Current Timeline (WIP)

1960s

Following the prophecy of the true Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient shadow organization SEELE organized an expedition to the Antarctic.

1980s

After 20 years of searching the remains of a monstrous being were discovered buried under the ice, a base is established at the site. Seele establishes a front, the Biotech Firm Gehirn, and sends samples of the Antarctic creature now dubbed “Adam” to Gehirn labs across the world.

1990s

Gehirn develops the MAGI organic computer system based on the brain tissue of the Adam creature.

2000s

At the SEELE Antarctic site something is found buried several miles under the ice, the ancient breach now frozen and abandoned. It is quickly reburied and placed under heavy guard, SEELE moves to stage two of their plan.
Evangelion Project is started, with Gehirn attempting to clone a lobotomized version of the Adam creature. Utilizing technology originally developed for the MAGI system, a human could be "synced" with the clone's dormant mind, allowing the human to take control of the body as if it were their own.

20XX

After dozens of failed attempts, Gehirn finally succeeds in growing the EVA series prototype, Unit-00.

2012

Unit-00 sent on secret mission through the Antarctic Breach by SEELE, it returns with a captive Precursor/Engineer codenamed “Lilith”. It is stored in stasis at one of the new Geofront facilities, at the lowest level. Not even high ranking NERV personnel know of Lilith’s existence.

2013

K-Day, the Kaiju Trespasser comes ashore on the California coast. After six days of battling the beast with conventional weapons, the US military finally attacks and kills Trespasser with a nuclear strike. The California Bay Area is totally destroyed, and contaminated with the toxic substance Kaiju Blue. Tens of thousands of people are dead, hundreds of thousands wounded, millions are now homeless.

2014

Three additional Kaiju attacks are unleashed on coastal cities of the Pacific and Atlantic, all three must also be put down by nuclear weapons. Jasper Schoenfeld proposes the Jaeger Program during a special UN general assembly session on the Kaiju threat.
Pressured by the sudden appearance of the Jaeger Project, Seele dissolves Gehirn and transfers all personnel and assets to the new agency NERV. Which goes public with the EVA program as its own solution to the Kaiju threat.

2015

American Jaeger prototype Brawler Yukon engages Kaiju Karloff and is victorious.
Japanese Jaeger prototype Jet Alone is deployed in Tokyo Bay to intercept Kaiju Onibaba. Disaster strikes as a glitch in the Drift software results in the death of both pilots, disabling Jet Alone and leaving Tokyo defenseless. NERV springs into action by deploying prototype EVA Unit-00, managing to bring down Onibaba. The incident is shrouded in controversy, with accusations of sabotage and incompetence thrown to both sides. In the end Japan terminates its Jaeger program, and orders Jet Alone scrapped. Mysteriously, the ship transporting the Jaeger never arrived at its destination.
The UN Security Council is impressed with both systems, and approves both. The PPDC received funding for 30 Jaegers across 5 production lines, and NERV approval for one additional prototype and 18 full production Evangelions.

2016

6 Mark I Jaegers enter service.
EVA Unit-01 Finished

2017

6 Mark II Jaegers enter service.
EVA Units 02, 03, and 04 finished
While originally intending to operate both Evangelions and Jaegers, the United States abandons its EVA program after a disaster involving the NERV facility at Area 51. In the wake of an unsanctioned experiment involving Unit-04 and a prototype power source, the entire facility and everything within 100 miles is atomized. NERV was kicked from the country, and America’s remaining EVA Unit was donated to Egypt.

2018

6 Mark III Jaegers enter service.
EVA Units 05, 06, 07, 08, and 09 finished.

2019

6 Mark IV Jaegers enter service.
EVA Units 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 finished

2020

Heavily over budget, only one Mark V Jaeger is produced, the rest of the line canceled. An additional 6 Mark IV Jaegers are built instead, ending the first Jaeger production order.
EVA Units 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 finished. The first EVA series production order is complete.

2021

Just as it seemed Humanity might have the upper hand, the frequency and severity of Kaiju attacks begin to escalate. Casualties begin to mount for both Jaegers and EVA Units.
The PPDC opens the Oblivion Bay facility in the ruins of Oakland to house Jaegers wrecks damaged beyond repair, while NERV stores the shattered remains of defeated EVAs in Graveyard facilities in the deepest depths of the Geofronts.

2024

An unprecedented 24 Kaiju emerge from the Rifts in one year, all stronger than the ones that came before. By the time the year ends, 12 Jaegers and 5 EVAs are destroyed. In addition to the losses mounted over the previous few years, only 2 Jaegers and 2 EVA Units are still intact.
The UN Security Council decides both programs have become unsustainable.

2025

The present day, only the Shatterdome and Geofront facilities located at the Panama Canal remain active. The UN has diverted funding from both NERV and the PPDC to the Wall of Life project. In 2026, both organizations are scheduled to be disbanded.

Jaegers and EVA Units

A list and explanation of the various giant robots in the setting.

Jaegers

The Jaegers (from the German word for "hunter") are giant, humanoid robots roughly 70-80m tall. Built with the intention of intercepting and defeating Kaiju before the can make landfall, the Jaegers are built to be massive walls able to beat down the Kaiju with just their fists. This keeps the spread of Kaiju Blue, which is spread via a Kaiju's blood, to a minimum. Any weapons that aren't blunt force are usually designed to cauterize the wounds, or are last resort weapons to be used in emergencies.

They are piloted via a neural uplink that allows a human to control the Jaeger with their own body. However, do to the strain of trying to control something so large, two pilots, designated 'Rangers,' sync together in a process known as Drifting. Once a connection is established each Ranger is inside the other's head, allowing them to think more or less as one, with each controlling one half of the Jaeger.

Harlequin Rodeo- Mark 4 ScrapBuild with Mark 5 Parts. Boasts that its the fastest Jaegar to walk Terra Firma. Has yet to be proven.
Two-Timer- EVA/Jaegar Hybrid, Combines the power-plant of a Mark 3 with the EVA Frame. Heavy Modification to keep the thing together, so slower then your Average EVA, and not as well armored as your standard Jaegar.
Ring Leader-another EVA/Jaegar Hybrid apparently stolen from the Chinese, it was there best attempt to copy EVA-O1. Also has a On board Power plant, ripped of a Dead Mark 4.
Lion Tamer- Mark 2 Redux. Someone with a real love for that Clunker Cherno decided to make his best imitation. They say Mockery is the most sincerest form of Flattery. That remains to be seen.
Shrike Victor - An Australasian Jaeger with a New Zealand crew, Shrike Victor was one of the last of the Mark 3 Jaegers to be built.
Emerald Spark -
Whiskey Churchill - A British Mark 4 Jaeger built as renewed waves of Kaiju came from the Atlantic portal.
Santo Machismo - piloted by an actual Lucha tag-team, the duo were actually training/wrestling in Japan during the time of the Onibaba attack. Surviving the carnage, they garnered a distaste for NERV, as they believe the EVA unit caused too much collateral damage and harmed many innocents. After a period of rest in Mexico, they made their way to the Lima Shatterdome in Peru in response to the open recruitment drives. Santo itself is a Mark III, it's head stylized (in either paint job or actual design) to resemble the silver mask of Mexico's most famous lucha, El Santo. The Jaeger is known to utilize the duo's wrestling moves and is a national symbol in Mexico.
Buster Astro - Astro is piloted by veteran Ranger Terry Hirst and the daughter of his previous partner, Laura Elsen. Laura's father Jay had been friends with Terry since middle school. They joined the military together and immediately signed up for the Jaeger program as soon as they could. Their first Jaeger was a Mark II named Tiger Domino; they had many successful missions together and lasted well into the Mark III era until a disastrous mission against a Category III. The current Jaeger, Buster Astro is one of the earlier Mark IV's and boasts their increased maneuverability and speed. As Jay and Terry were both children of the 80's, Terry and Laura have affectionately called the railgun stored in Astro's left arm the mega buster.

EVA Units

The Evangelions, known simply as Evas, are cyborgs based off of ancient Kaiju remains recovered from Antarctica (Codename 'Adam') that are grown and lobotomized. They are then wrapped in protective armor that conveniently acts as a restraint on the Eva and hides its organic nature. Its Kaiju heritage (possibly mixed with a slight bit of human DNA), allows it to generate an AT Field. This 'Absolute Territory' is present in all living creatures, preserving one's sense of self. Disconnected from the Kaiju hive-mind, an Eva stands alone enough to manifest its AT Field as a barrier, compensating for its lessened armor compared to both the Jaegers and its Kaiju cousins.

Evas are piloted through a device known as an Entry Plug, which is inserted into the spine, connecting it to the Eva's nervous system. This allows a system similar to the Jaeger Drift, although with a couple VERY important differences. The most pressing is that instead of two human pilots, there is only one pilot who syncs with the Eva itself. On top of this, for some reason only select teenagers possess the capability to even begin a Drift with the Eva unit. This particular fact means that all Eva pilots are usually in there teens, as any who might survive to adulthood are usually burnt out by the close connection they share with the giant alien consciousness.

Unit 012 -
Unit 013 -
Unit 014 - pariah or "Won Armed Wonder"

Pilots and Rangers

Santiago Pucci - A Brazilian who pilot Unit 15. Orphaned after a Kaiju attack on Rio he was adopted, unbeknownst to him, by two NERV agents who forced a rivalry between him and his foster sister, the one the deemed the winner would become an EVA pilot. After becoming a pilot he used his influence to move his "family" to America
Michelle Pucci - A Ranger and co-pilot of the Mk. 4 Jaeger Emerald Spark. Originally from Brazil, she was orphaned by a Kaiju attack on Rio and adopted by two NERV agents and raised to be a rival to her brother. After unknowingly denied the "right" to pilot and sent to America she enlisted in the PPDC and tested to be a Ranger, half in an attempt to get revenge and half to spite her brother. She was certified and partnered up with her now best friend Trey Richard.

The Kaiju

A Japanese word usually referring to some kind of giant monster, such as Godzilla, the term Kaiju was accepted as the best name for the giant monsters that began rising from the sea in 2013. They posses a completely alien biology, bearing only a passing resemblance to any form of life on Earth. This is because, unknown to all but a handful of the human race, the Kaiju aren't simply wild animals crossing through a convenient dimensional hole in the sea, but genetically engineered soldiers designed to take out large population centers for their masters/creators known as the Precursors.

While the Kaiju are divided into Categories based on their size and threat level, all Kaiju share certain traits that tie them together. The oddest of these traits is the Absolute Territory, or AT, Field that they're able to manifest. While it is theorized that all living creatures have an AT field that protects an individual's sense of self, only the Kaiju, and their cousins the Evas, are able to manifest it in real-space, allowing for minor abuses on the laws of physics.

For the Kaiju, this usually boils down to a light shield that protects them from weaponry up to a certain grade. While this field is usually only as strong as a Kaiju's natural armor, with some bulkier Kaiju actually having stronger hides than AT fields, the field can protect even the more exposed parts of a Kaiju, such as the eyes and open wounds. This means that, in most cases, it is impossible to use a heavy weapon of some kind, such as a plasma cannon, to open up the Kaiju and allow conventional weaponry to finish the job.

However, there are some Kaiju that use their AT Fields in a different manner. The Kaiju Leatherback and Otachi both show unconventional abilities that are believed to be different manifestations of the AT field. Leatherback possesses some form of EMP generator located on its upper back, that allows it to shut down digital Jaegers, usually Marks 4 and 5 with some upgraded Mark 3s. Otachi instead has the ability to spit a powerful acid from its mouth, not unlike the dragons of Europeon legend. While it's unknown whether the acid utilizes the AT field in some way, Otachi has one other skill that almost certainly relies on its AT field to work: Flight. Although Otachi does possess wings, that seem to retract into it when not in use, most of its stunts while flying make so little sense, that an AT field is the only plausible explanation. Known feats include maintaining flight in the upper atmosphere and being able to carry a Jaeger to said height using only its hind talons to hold on.

The Crunch

[under construction]

JAEVA is meant to be a deceptively simple game that runs off the idea of d10 pools established by games like World of Darkness. Characters have a list of attributes and skills with dots that, when added together, give a number of dice a character uses for an average roll. Unlike other games, however, when you are in a robot/Jaeger/EVA, you use their physical attributes instead of your own.

The Basics

As just mentioned, a standard test requires you to roll a number of D10s equal to the sum of an attribute and a relevant skill to get a result of successes and failures.

The way to determine the target number to meet or exceed is to compare 5 as the average. Finding the difficulty of an enemy means subtracting the player's level from the enemy and adding the difference to 5. (a level 5 enemy against a level 3 player has a difference of 2, thus has a target number of 7 for the player to hit. in contrast, a level 3 enemy against a level 5 player has a target number of 3 for the player.

Rolling a 10 “explodes” and gives an extra die to the roll, allowing a chance for an extra success or more exploding successes.

Rolling a 1 removes the highest success from the roll, always taking 10s first

the average test's difficulty is a 5, 4, 3, and 2 are progressively easier, and 6, 7, 8, and 9 are progressively harder. give a test that fits the difficulty. no test should be as easy as a 1, and no test should be as hard as a 10.

Subtract any further modifiers from the successes. If they are over 0 you have succeeded and (if in combat) may now go to the Damage roll, otherwise you have simply passed: Add these successes and the bonus on your weapon's stats (these are considered automatic successes) and subtract them from your opponent's armor of the hit location you targeted, or rolled for on the hit location table. The result is what damage you do to that area, which may result in that appendage/part being destroyed, crippled, or simply damaged.

Personality

Personality of a character (or even robot!) can effect a lot both in roleplay and gameplay. The most basic way to describe a personality is using the color wheel below which uses an easy way to describe a character's personality in a single word by seeing which word they connect or would describe the majority of their feelings as.

When dealing with, piloting alongside, or trying to convince other characters, characters will take a penalty of -1 to their relevant combined stats (only -1 for the sum, not each) for every space over that character's personality is on the wheel. For example: if a pessimistic character is trying to pilot a robot alongside an optimistic character, they would be at a -3 on all their rolls to work with that character due to how little they understand them. On the flipside, if the optimistic character was working with another optimistic character, they would be at a -0, and would be fighting as if they were one.

This is the concept of synchronicity, and the idea of it is to bring a more psychological element to the game, where a two pilots can have a hard time getting along with each other and have it reflect in their performance.

[NOTE: At the moment Personality is a very simple mechanic. there is intent to change this into a "mood shift" mechanic where a character has a dominant mood, and will change depending on the situation they find themselves in. It is currently a very confusing idea that keeps us from simplifying it, so until we are able to find a simpler solution, personality it is.]

Sanity/Insanity

What's that? Evangelion's involved?
That's right, you saw this coming if you know anything about NGE. There's no absolute cause of insanity. Perhaps something traumatic happened in the character's past they go insane remembering, or see something right in front of them that they can't believe. Whenever your character sees something like a tank of naked clones of their mother that look like their crush, chases the RABIT (Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers, watch Pacific Rim again guys.), or has some other pants-shittingly weird thing happen that gives them a total mindfuck, they get a point of insanity and roll an insanity test at +1 difficulty for every point of insanity they have, against their sanity rating. Failing the roll results in rolling on the insanity table (under construction), which gives conditions or actions for them to follow through on, such as going bezerk, or having a breakdown and doing nothing. However, succeeding in the roll removes that point of insanity.

Insanity can spring up any time, but it's not suggested that GMs overuse it when running games, as it can render characters uncontrollable. Insanity points can be gotten rid of through therapy, which can be whatever makes sense for the character and whatever the GM sees fit.

Character Advancement

Unlike a certain other RPG franchise, where EXP needs to be in the thousands to get anywhere, JAEVA sits more in the area of Numenera, where you only need a few EXP to advance. How does it work? Well, you start at 0 EXP at level 1, then 5 EXP later you're at level 2 with a couple more dots in your character sheet and some requisition points in your pocket, and now you are 5 EXP away from level 3. Here's how to earn EXP:

Show up to a session and participate: 1 EXP
Win a combat outside of the giant robot: 1-3 EXP
Win a combat with a kaiju (or other bot): 1-5 EXP
Uncover a conspiracy, or discover something about the Kaiju or their origins: 1-3 EXP
Complete one of your character's goals: 1-5 EXP
Complete a GM intrusion: 1-3 EXP

Levels advance at double the EXP whatever the last one was. starting at 5 EXP for level 2, third level is 10, fourth level is 20, fifth level is 40, and so on. With each level your character gets an extra dot to put in an attribute or skill of their character, and a few requisition points to invest in your current bot (whatever the GM feels is good, not too many though).

Jaeger/Eva advancement

Robots don't advance like people do: they require immense funding to repair their massive and rare parts, and upgrades to increase their effectiveness. A battleworn machine in JAEVA will have many unique weapons and pieces of gear that turn it from something fairly normal into something wildly different by the end of a campaign. This is done through Requisition points, which are an easy way to account for, and pay for, the massive funding these programs need to sustain themselves, usually paid for through taxes, imaginary created money sending future generations into a swirling vortex of debt (but hey, it's all for them, right?), and the United Nations. Each requisition point is equal to about $500k if there was any real value on them.

so how do you get them? Here's how:

Kill Kaiju: you saw this coming. What use are giant robots if they don't defend the cities from massive beasts? Every Kaiju you fight will have a price on his head of around 10 Requisition points per level. kill it, and you get some points, however....

Don't cause collateral damage: that's what the kaiju are here to do. causing collateral damage gets points docked from your pay. Don't sweat the small stuff though; crushed cars, massive footprints in the streets, and broken windows/lamp posts are covered by the UN, no questions asked. but the golden gate bridge? tokyo tower? empire state building? the forbidden city? that comes out of your pay. flattening an entire city block isn't what they hired you for, so don't fuck up. GMs will subtract fitting amounts of requisition from your bounty if you cause wanton destruction.

Keep it intact: Guess what? Hannibal Chau and his compatriots want those kaiju corpses for sellin' purposes, and he has more actual money than most countries at this point. The more intact a dead kaiju is, the more they are likely to pay. keep that in mind as you weigh the risks of blowing the head off one. They also come in handy for research purposes too, i guess, but scientists are cheap-asses.

With Requisition you will buy repairs, custom weapons, and equipment for your bot that will make them your own. Weapons work on a point-buy system: simply buy the basic weapon type (cannon, blade, fist, club, spear, shield) which as a very basic set of stats, and then buy descriptors which give the weapon a number of options, but not all descriptors are available to every type of weapon (you won't have an automatic blade, or a piston cannon. What the hell would those even look like?). Weapons are usually limited to 3 or 4 descriptors. Gear and equipment add to your bot in a similar way to how descriptors add to your weapon; each gives new abilities or enhances old ones. Equipment like the Speed Booster would allow a bot to move from medium range to long range in a single action, while equipment like heavy armor would give them (that's right) better armor to make fights more survivable, the downside being that they take a negative modifier when rolling initiative. a full and ever-expanding list will be ready at the bottom of this page that will have all weapon/equipment types, their requisition price, and their effects.

Creation of Characters, Evas, and Jaegers will all be covered in a later section.

The Character Sheet

Every player needs one to be able to play the game. here are the stats you will see on the

Basic Info

Your character's name, height, weight, Gender, Level, EXP, Goals, and other information go up here at the top. you always begin at level 1 with 0 EXP.

Attributes and Skills

Characters have nine attributes, three physical, mental and social. these are: Mental: Intelligence, Wits, Resolve. Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina. Social: Presence, Manipulation, Composure. all attributes begin at 1 automatically and can be upgraded to a max of 5 in character creation and between sessions with points they are awarded. [NOTE]: While piloting, a character will use the bot's physical attributes in place of their own.

Skills are more numerous, yet all are useful in some way. they begin at 0, and each can be upgraded to 5. the skills are; Physical: Athletics, Brawl, Firearms, Larceny, Pilot, Stealth, Survival, Weaponry. Mental: Academics, Computer, Crafting, Investigation, Medicine, Religion, Politics, Science. Social: Empathy, Expression, Intimidation, Persuasion, Socialize, Streetwise, Wildlife handling,

Health and other aspects

Your health is tracked through damage boxes on your character sheet. you begin with 16 boxes and can upgrade this to the full track of 20 boxes in character creation and between sessions. Once you take damage (subtracting your armor) you add the damage to your track, marking down the highest box on the left, and going to the right. once you have gone all the way to the right you begin on the next line. If you have a box filled on a line that says "-1/-3/-5" you take that penalty to all rolls, this represents pain taking your attention away from what you are doing (or in the case of a jaeger/eva, damage done to your systems only allowing a few signals through).

Jaegers, EVAs, and Kaiju have similar boxes, except they have one for each part of the body and only take the modifier when using a weapon or piece of gear on that area of the body.

Armor is right below this, and represents the armor that you buy with character points or requisition points for jaegers/evas. The amount of armor you have lowers the amount of damage you take by 1 for each point of armor you have. armor begins at 0.

Initiative Mod.

Face it, some people and things are just faster than others, to reflect this, players begin at 0, a player may buy an initiative modifier of +1 die for every 2 character points spent on it. Alternatively, a player may sell 1 point for a -1 modifier that yields 2 character points to add to their stock. Add one success for each +1 on your initiative mod, or subtract one success for every -1 on your initiative mod.

Insanity and Triggers

Psychological triggers, known as RABITS (Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers) effect a character's mental state. A character does not have to begin with any triggers whatsoever, but having a trigger does not only add depth to a character, but also gives extra character points to improve your stats, showing that a person who has more experiences will do better in stressful situations, provided they don't get triggered. players get 5 character points per trigger, max of three triggers at start, and one insanity point per trigger.

Whenever a character is triggered by seeing something similar to a past traumatic experience, or having to relive those experiences with a new drift partner, they add an insanity point to their sheet and take an insanity test (composure+wits) at a +1 difficulty for each insanity point they have on their sheet. Failing makes them roll on the insanity table (under construction) and succeeding removes an insanity point if they succeed. As mentioned in the basics, insanity points can be shed off through therapy, which is whatever the GM feels will work for the character in question.

Size

Size effects the evasiveness and difficulty to hit/ease to wound that changes up combat depending on what you are fighting. humans start at size 2 (equivalent of 5-6' tall), and can be as big as size 3 (over 6', to ~7' tall) and can be as short as size 1 (as low as 3', the size of a child). True Jaegers, EVAs, and Kaiju begin at size 6 (around 100 feet for the smaller ones), and can just keep going up. there is no definite size for each level up, so use common sense and decide the size of your beasts and bots using this scale. (For further reference, the baby Kaiju found in Otachi would be size 4.)

For every size lower a character is to you, you subtract a die from your pool when attempting to hit, and add a die when attempting to damage. The opposite is true when fighting something larger than you: add a die to your hitting roll, and subtract a die from your damage roll. This represents what might happen if a human attempted to attack a kaiju without a bot, still giving them a chance to succeed (as seen with striker's team in Pacific Rim). this also gives adventure ideas for enemies above the size of a human, but not quite the size of a kaiju. Being outside of a bot isn't a preferred situation when fighting massive beasts, but sometime you just have to work with what you've got.

Willpower

Willpower: characters can spend points willpower to add successes to any roll. For every point of willpower spent, they gain one success. If willpower is depleted, the character must wait a full turn resting, then roll a die to see how many points they regain. Between combats and events willpower is regained. you can never regain more than the number of willpower points you have purchased. Once again, all prices will be found in the Character Creation section. Willpower may be used on any roll.

Weapons and Equipment

Characters can carry weapons and equipment just like the bots they control, but these are not customizable and they can only carry two of each.

Modifiers

Simply a space to write down what modifiers you have against what at the moment. This makes it a hell of a lot easier to keep track of things in a fight.

Combat

Combat in JAEVA is handled with less detail than most games, allowing for better narrative action and descriptions from the players and GM about what is going on and how they are handling it.

Ranges

Range in JAEVA is very simple: there are a total of 4 ranges you can be at from your allies and enemies.these ranges are only suggestions of distance to keep things simple They are:

Short: within reach or hitting distance. not far at all. all melee weapons have this range.

Medium: this is between just out of reach and just short of long range. for scale, it's the distance Gypsy Danger dragged the boat to smash across Otachi's face, or when Asuka ran forward to pounce on one of the Mass-Produced EVAs and break it's skull. If it's not close enough to hit with a melee weapon, but not far away enough that you wouldn't be able to brisky walk there in a few seconds, then it is at medium range. you may always walk from medium to short range in one movement action. thrown weapons can hit this range at a -2, range weapons hit this range with no penalty

Long: this is range just out of a short walking distance, around the scale distance of a city block compared to a human, but not up to extreme range. weapons can be shot to a long range at a -2 penalty.

Extreme: Extreme range is around the length of around a mile away, hitting something this far would require a ranged weapon, as no weapon can be thrown this far. Ranged weapons firing this far are at a -4 penalty. a comparison of scale would be the Evangelion fight with Ramiel, where Shinji was equipped with a positron rifle. that fight would have been juuust within extreme range.

GMs: do not abuse the use of range, as mentioned before, it is just a vague indication of range. Because of this, it is suggested that GMs equip the table with a map of the city or area they are in and simply use markers or miniatures to note down where characters and enemies are to get a basic sense of scale and distance.

Initiative

Players and enemies roll their Dexterity + Athletics at a difficulty of 5, add up the successes, and compare the number to the other combatants. the one with the highest number of successes goes first.

The Structure of a Turn

What can you do in a turn? the answer: any combination of two of these actions:

A standard action: attacking, doing a maneuver, and other simple things that take a short time to complete are only worth one of your two actions.

A movement action: moving from medium to short range (or any single increment of range as mentioned above) is only worth a single action.

A slow action: slow actions, which are actions that take time and effort, such as aiming a difficult weapon or pulling up a building and throwing it are strenuous and difficult to achieve. these are worth both your actions if you are wanting to complete the slow action on your turn, or if you do one action and initiate the slow action, it takes effect as a free instant action on your next turn. the downside of these is, while you are finishing the action waiting for your next turn, you can be interrupted. GMs: handle this as you see fit.

An Instant action: instant actions cost no actions for your turn. insignificant or easily done things on the fly such as talking to allies or finishing a slow action cost nothing. your GM will tell you if he allows an instant action of a certain complexity or requires it to be a standard action.

Readied actions: a player may ready an action with specific things to trigger it (much like how Gypsy Danger raised it's sword at the right moment when crippled and being attacked, leading to a certain kaiju being cut down the middle). readied actions may be performed at any time they are triggered, often on ally and enemy turns. readied actions may be used to interrupt slow or standard actions if set up properly. a readied action is usually a standard action, but can be a slow action if it has been waiting to be used.

Specific actions: actions such as disarming and grappling are deliberate attempts to do something specific, so such actions must be handled differently:

- Grappling: roll your Strength+Brawl against an opponent's roll of Dexterity+Athletics. a roll with more successes than the opponent wins and the losing character is grappled. A failure means they escape the grapple attempt while grappled you cannot move, you may only attack your assailant at a -2, and may try to escape with an opposed roll by force (strength+brawl) finesse (Dexterity+athletics) or by outlasting them (stamina+survival). While grappled, an enemy is at a +4 to hit.

- Disarming: roll your Strength+Brawl opposed to an opponent's roll of Strength+athletics, winning the roll means the victim is disarmed, and the assailant may take the weapon as a standard action (if they have a free hand). failing the opposed roll allows the victim to keep their weapon.

While actions are often varied, you can usually tell what type they will be. any combination of 2 (plus any free instant actions) is the composition of your turn. if more specific actions are thought of, be creative, combine whatever attributes and skills that make sense.

Attacking

To attack, first find the defender's difficulty. Reiterating previously mentioned rules, this is simply adding the difference of the defender's level to the attackers level to 5, giving a resulted target number (level 3 player attacking a level 5 enemy would have a target number of 7, flip the levels and he would have a target number of 3.) Announce a hit location, or roll on the hit location table to hit randomly, then adding size modifiers and any other modifiers you have, roll your relevant stats (Strength+Brawl for unarmed melee, Strength+weaponry for armed melee, Dexterity+Firearms for ranged weapons, Dexterity+Weaponry for thrown weapons, etc. Whatever makes sense. if you are in a bot, you will roll any attributes or skills they have in place of your own).

If any successes pass the difficulty of the enemy, add your weapon bonus to them and find a total. subtract the enemy's armor of the hit location and find the amount of damage done to that part. mark down damage on the sheet.

Defending

Defending is a passive thing that gives the enemy a difficulty for them to hit, the way of finding the difficulty is mentioned in the "attacking" section above.

Moving

you may move your character one range increment for each action they spend moving, if the legs of your character are taken out, they must take 2 actions to move one increment instead.

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Rules Appendix

Here you will find lists of weapons/equipment, tables, an other rules not found previously detailed in the rules.

Insanity Table

Roll a D10 and follow the result. Only roll on this table if your character has failed a Sanity test (above). Effects without a specified duration are left to gm discretion, and will usually last the duration of a scene.

Mood Shift: The character's personality shifts by one step on the personality wheel (direction should be decided based on the cause of the insanity test).
Shell Shock: The player loses their next X actions, where X is equal to their current insanity score.
RABIT Event: Traumatic RABITs begin flowing in both directions on the Drift, potentially revealing secrets, adding penalties to actions, or forcing the player to make an additional insanity test
Blind rage: The character goes into a berserk rage, and can only take aggressive actions against nearest ally/enemy. Allies no longer exist.
Personality break: see below (specialized to individual personalities)
Mad World: The character begins experiencing hallucinations, and is unable to tell them apart from reality.
Shattered Mind: (under construction)
Catatonic State: The character falls unconscious.
Mental Relapse: Repeat the effects of a previous failed insanity test, and roll again. Both effects take place simultaneously.
Madness: Roll again. This effect is now permanent (psychological help can reduce and eventually remove this.

Weapon Types

Weapon Descriptors

Improvised Weapons

Remember this scene? :

You can do that too. Using an improvised weapon is easy, though your ability to use it may be the problem. Much like figuring out difficulty of an enemy, the difficulty of a weapon is a similar: subtract your character/bot's size from the object's size, the difference + 5 is the difficulty (an object 2 sizes smaller than you is -2 + 5= difficulty 3). Roll your Dexterity + weaponry at the difficulty, you need however many successes the GM tells you to be able to wield it as a weapon. the bonus the weapon gives is equal to it's size (a lamp post would be size 2, and provide a +2 bonus to damage, added to size bonus/penalty of the character/bot wielding it.) GMs, be realistic on the number of successes they need. you won't have a human who can wield a container ship, and you won't have a jaeger that can't throw a car. lacking successes on something under your size means it either broke, or slipped out of your hands.

Size:

something with the mass of a child or smaller
something around the mass of an adult human or bigger (lamp posts, food stands, cars etc)
something around the mass of a bus or bigger
something around the mass of a small building or bigger
something around the mass of a mk. 1 jaeger or category 1 kaiju (100~ feet tall)
something around the mass of a medium building or standard EVA (~200 ft tall)
something around the mass of a mk 3 jaeger (or any you see in the movie, ~300 feet tall)
something around the mass of a Category 5 Kaiju (~400 ft tall)
something around the mass of a large building (~500 feet tall)
something impeccably large, at least double the size of your average jaeger

And the list keeps going on. this is a game of big things hitting each other, you'll get some huge stuff. use your head and creativity. I'm sure you can come up with a lot.

As a general rule, improvised weapons break after a few hits, so GMs: give them at least one or two successful hits before they break, players: use them creatively while you have them.