Specifically, I figure that the main focus would be adapting the combination of TSC and The Macross Saga Sourcebook. First, because the anime Macross II: Lovers Again is meant to be a sequel to Macross: DYRL...which from what I understand of SDF Macross canon is viewed as an in-universe cross between a propaganda/recruitment film ("Join the UN Spacy! Service Guarantees Citizen...wait, that's the wrong movie...") and a "based on true events" film (like Midway or Dunkirk). That makes the Macross Saga mecha & O.C.C.s closer to the U.N. Spacy versions than those from the Masters or New Generation eras. Second, from a visual perspective, the UN Spacy & Marduk mecha obviously make much more sense as derivatives of those seen in the Macross era/timeline than any of the just-as-alien designs from the Invid or Masters. And finally...because looking at how the M2 O.C.C.s are set up, they're much closer to the old-style RDF/UEDF versions than the later REF/UEEF ones (& way different than anything from the Masters era).
But I have a bit of a dilemma. I'm not even going to touch on making any adjustments to the mecha or starships yet, but I'm a bit stuck on how to proceed with the O.C.C.s and skills. I have two options I can choose from here.
Option 1: Adapt the skill list from TSC/Macross Sourcebook, modifying them to account for the technology differences, and use the original Macross II O.C.C.s as listed with as few changes as possible.
Option 2: Slightly modify the skill list from TSC/Macross Sourcebook to account for the technology differences, & use the TSC/Macross Sourcebook O.C.C.s as listed with as few changes as possible.
In terms of the amount of work, option 1 is probably the least intensive. However, there are some issues I'm struggling with:
- Unlike the old Robotech O.C.C.s, Macross II characters separate out Espionage & Military skills, & nearly all of them have access to the Military category, making a lot of the newer skills readily available. However, just like the old RDF/ASC characters, Macross II never had the Wilderness category...& even though some of them showed up as Technical skills, for some reason most of the characters didn't have access to them. I'm not sure how to best adapt those Wilderness skills so that they're more readily available if I go with option #1 without having to make more changes to the O.C.C.s than I would like. And there are some other categories where Robotech 2.0 characters have more access to the skills than their 1.0 counterparts did, so again the Macross II characters lose out on some customization options (& I really, really love having a lot of flexibility in characters' skill selections).
- Whichever option I choose, some skills are going to have to be changed. Some are obvious (Pilot Veritech to Pilot Valkyrie), but some are going to involve some rewriting of the description (i.e. Robotechnology Engineering will probably become Overtechnology Engineering, but haven't quite decided yet on Biomechanical Maintenance).
- I feel like I'm missing out on more flexibility if I don't go with option #2. Even though it would take a lot more work, I feel like it would allow for players to have more than just "the usual suspects" in their O.C.C.s. For example, instead of having a couple of Valkyrie Pilots in their team, maybe one of them is a real hot-shot at atmospheric flying, while the other one is more comfortable in deep-space environments because they've only served with squadrons assigned to the UN Spacy fleets.
- One of the biggest differences between the Robotech settings & the Macross II RPG (in their original versions) is the idea of Basic mecha training vs. Elite combat training. Robotech 1.0 only had Basic training show up with the REF, & even then it seemed like Basic for Destroids was only for Destroid Pilots, while Basic for Veritechs was meant for those that weren't full-blown Veritech pilots. In Macross II, though, it seems to follow more of the Rifts RPG standard (i.e. Elite training in 1 type/model gives you Basic training in all similar types/models). Back in Robotech 2.0, though, Mecha Basic Combat Training doesn't even exist: you either have MECT (Mecha Elite Combat Training), or you have no combat training. If I go with option #2, I'm debating whether to bring that dynamic from Robotech 2.0 over to Macross II, or if I should slip MBCT (Mecha Basic Combat Training) into the mix somehow.
Thoughts or suggestions?