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Hi I was wondering what others thoughts would be on these tactics

I Think they would send a small recon/ scouting group (this could be years in advance) to assess the planet for its resources, planetary population Technical advancement.
From this assessment they would acquire access to key technology Hack the planetary internet (if it has one) and data mine all useful information to be used in the advancement of the mechanoid race (since this was there first primary goal) they would catalog everything about the planet.
Id image they hack key defense systems to make them inoperable against the attack when it happens. also minimize key areas on the planet of technology they want to acquire. I can also image the scout group taking great delight in corrupting the planetary governments against each other for there own twisted amusements getting them to do some of the dirty work to undermine the planetary defenses/ information that could be used against them.

What are your thoughts on this ?

I always just thought of it like I read in the mech trilogy, that they just fly along in space find out about a system or just planet or whatever that has bipedal beings and they just go right there in the motherplanet homeships and then just disgorge the billions and billions and billions of mechanoids to just destroy everything then carve that planet up to make one of those power crystals, or are those crystals just from suns.

I just see it as they just go there and boom strength in numbers and thats it. I mean if they only disgorge a million mechanoids and they only did 1 point of MDC each attack then you have over 1 mill damage in one mellee attack, now imagine the billions and they do at least 1-4 (or more I think) per attack and they have at least 4 attacks., Things just arent going to stay alive long. This will work 99.9999% of the time. IMHO

in the Rifts Mechanoids book it says the like to play around a bit & do a ground invasion first, since universal genocide doesnt have to be boring unless you make it boring

The Beings that became the Mechanoids as we know them today. Where very highly advanced humans who had virtually eliminated disease and illness, and had also learned the secrets of genetic engineering, manipulation, reconstruction, and cloning. Their knowledge of bionics and robotics were equally advanced, but their mastery of these sciences and related technology only served to make them hungry for more knowledge, so they launched an ambitious program to explore their galaxy and colonize its many planets. Since the frail human body was not especially well suited for the rigors of space, thousands of the dedicated, brave, and adventurous citizens volunteered to undergo genetic and bionic reconstruction. The large-scale experiment to create an army of space explorers specially engineered to combine flesh with machines was a great success. Far too successful.

The Mechanoids are far from stupid I think they would scout out and asses other planets cataloging everything about it in case there is something they can add to their technology or steer there knowledge along new paths to help their race (as they continue there quest for knowledge) this way the don't waste resources blindly wandering the megaverse.
I'm not saying this don't happen when the needs require it but I do think they calculate there next target after they have learned from there intelligence gathering.
Classic signs of a scouting party presence could be abductions, Computer systems being hacked by an unknown source - whole databases being copied or transferred, strange objects seen over defense systems/ power plants or defense systems suddenly stop working for periods of time, certain researchers suddenly going missing or found dead, strange objects seen in the skys. Maybe start a few conflicts so they can hide under the guise of this to wipe out humans in some towns, maybe inspire acts of terrorism, some strange diseases. All of these could be part of evaluations of the scouting party - certainly some great story lines there.

One way of dealing with it is to allow a mothership really advanced sensors. That way they can detect the type of life on planets really far away - then go to a planet of humans, have some fun, then drop by a planet of non humanoids, make some allies...do a little space exploration. It just so happens that they hate humanoids, but they are also interested in advancing their technology and exploring space.

The problem with sending out advance units, is that any advance unit would be able to, if left unchecked, retool factories and clone an entire army of mechanoids able to take out a planet. But thats no fun! The peace loving squishies would have a chance...and the mechanoids don't fight fare. So, I give em really good sensors on the motherships...as I think they were intended to be played according to the mechanoid invasion trilogy. I think it says their SOP is to move in with motherships, not send scouts.

Ex-term-in-ate!

Check out the stats for the Mechanoid Battlecruiser. It's a nice mini-mothership perfect for wiping out a small colony of bipedal meat-things.

I've wanted to do a short campaign so the colony could possibly stand a chance against them. It may be a false hope for the players, but still gives them the sense that its not an overwhelming matchup.