Gundam RX-78
Context
The Gundam series of animé started in 1979. It was in some ways similar to previous giant robot Japanese cartoons, such as the classic Mazinger Z. However, the storytelling was much more credible and adult.
Gundamn wasn’t commercially successful, but unexpected toys sales saved the series after it had been cancelled.
Gundam thus received the exposure to be appreciated as a landmark classic in Japan, defining the “real robot” genre (リアルロボット). And during the 1990s, it became one of the major animés that shaped American perceptions of mecha and even Japanese animation in general.
Background
- Height: 18 meters (60 feet) Weight: 80 tons
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Powers and Abilities
The RX-78 GUNDAM is the lead mecha in the anime, Mobile Suit Gundam. It is operated by a single pilot, namely Amuro Rei. As a prototype, it is considerably faster and tougher than the later production model, the GM. For example, the GM uses a weapon roughly similar to a submachinegun, instead of the beam rifle the Gundam carries.
The entire mech is resilient, composed of the alloy known as Gundarium.
Armament
Its shield is actually little more than a shaped plate of foot-thick Gundarium.
It mounts two beam sabers, usually used in conjunction with the shield (in DC Heroes RPG terms, the Claws power).
It also carries a beam rifle that collects and stores excess particle and radiation in a capacitor. The rifle then launches it out as a high intensity beam, at a range of up to eight miles.
In the head, twin autocannons pour out high-caliber ammunition at an opponent.
Other capabilities
The backpack on its back not only provides power for the mech, it also mounts its jump jets. In space, these jump jets can be used for relatively high-speed flight and maneuverability.
The reactor in the backpack also generates a bizarre field of “virtual” particles called Minovski particles. This field disrupts both high and low end regions of the electro-magnetic spectrum. This renders the robot nearly invisible to anything but sight, or sonar.
The Gundam is fully environmentally sealed. It can maintain integrity for several hours in the vacuum of space, or underwater. Due to the reinforced cockpit, this integrity is maintained even if the mech is damaged.
The cockpit is actually a self-contained aircraft known as a Core Fighter. As long as the Gundam is intact, the Core Fighter is rarely exposed to damage of any kind. However, should the Gundam be damaged beyond usability, it can be ejected, and the core fighter used as a separate fighter aircraft.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
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Gundam
| Dex: 07 | Str: 15 | Bod: 17 |
Powers:
Claws: 22, Flight: 12, Growth: 10, Invisibility: 09, Jumping: 06, Projectile weapons: 13, Radar Sense: 14, Sealed Systems: 12
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Defenses are Hardened.
- Claws represent a beam saber, and thus can be absorbed by Energy Absorbtion, and any other power that manipulates energy can be used against it.
- Flight only works in space, and represents using the jump jets for thrust and maneuvering (how the vehicle ends up there is up to the pilot).
- Growth is Always On, and is already factored in.
- Invisibility only affects Radar Sense, and other long-range, non-visual sensors of a technological nature
- Projectile Weapons has a Range of 10.
Advantages:
Misc. : If the pilot’s Vehicles (Land) or Vehicles (Space) is higher than 07, then the pilot can substitute this skill for the Gundam’s Dex.
Equipment:
- Gundam Shield MEDIUM SHIELD [BODY (Hardened Defenses) 19, Recommended STR 12, Recommended Growth 10, Note: OV/RV bonus when using the Block Manoeuvre is 2 APs, Note: the OV bonus for the Shield Cover Manoeuvre is 2 APs].
- Gundam rifle [BODY 11, Energy blast: 19, Ammo: 10, R#02, Recommended STR 13, Recommended Growth 10, Drawbacks : Energy blast has a Range of 13].
- Core Fighter [BODY 09, AV 07, EV: 13, Range: 08, Flight: 11, Radar Sense: 10, Sealed Systems*: 09, R#2. Drawbacks: The Gundam cannot function without the Core Fighter. It only takes an automatic action for the Core Fighter to eject, leaving the actual Gundam behind, but it takes several hours in a hangar to reincorporate the Gundam and Core Fighter].
Helper(s): Sébastien Andrivet.
Source of Character: Anime, Comic Book, Novels, etc..