Dreamscarred Press Presents: "Arcforge: Technology Expanded"

[Milo v3]

Will there be any way to play a sentient mech? In mechanical terms it could be as simple as a pilot who can't leave his cockpit - if the mech is destroyed, its core remains intact and can be installed into a new body. Could be fun either as a PC or a cohort, particularly if the mech body allows for multiple pilots. A feat that lets you take on human form would be useful, though, so that a mech PC isn't barred from social situations (alternatively I guess you could communicate through your psicrystal or something).

I was planning on reflavouring a wildwood into that as a playtest character for Arcforge.

[tekevil]

May be a bit selfish, but a docking system would be pretty cool and help players avoid problems like "I have a collossal robot and I'm going into a cave with 10 ft ceilings." Also the cost of outfitting both size robots would keep you from abusing said system.


Examples of docking in media:

Relatively new super robot anime that had a docking system( Motorcycle into Colossal Robot):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkAZOX7yGN4

Older Super Robot anime with docking (Large Aerial mech into colossal robot)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyRoF689VRE

Someone going from Medium Bipedal Robot, to Large Bipedal Robot, to Huge Bipedal robot via the Russian Nesting Doll transformation style
https://youtu.be/xl4IqLfzHwg?t=53s

Yea a lot of these are cartoonish, but I think having Huge and larger robots should allow you a "Core Unit" of medium or large size to both realize concepts like these and to allow exploration of dungeons without class features and wealth becoming useless.

[Milo v3]

Just noticed that siege weapons are missing Armour Penetration.

[Halae]

Armor and hardness penetration does seem like the sort of thing siege weaponry would excel at, doesn't it? it'd give other mechs something of a hardness bypass if they decide they like being artillery if it went for hardness too, but AP alone would make sense as well.

As far as being stuck inside your mech, the druid's biomech seems interesting for that - I'm currently imagining a guy that got a magic seed planted into his spine and it's constantly growing, using him as a sort of core, though he gives it will and life, in a sort of symbiotic relationship that neither can back out of without dying.

[Sayt]

Will there be any way to play a sentient mech? In mechanical terms it could be as simple as a pilot who can't leave his cockpit - if the mech is destroyed, its core remains intact and can be installed into a new body. Could be fun either as a PC or a cohort, particularly if the mech body allows for multiple pilots. A feat that lets you take on human form would be useful, though, so that a mech PC isn't barred from social situations (alternatively I guess you could communicate through your psicrystal or something).

The Technology guide has rules for AIs, perhaps if there's a bestiary section that would include a rampant AI piloting a mech.

...or maybe even a raceless AI in a robot class. it would be novel, at least, compared to the rest of the Pathfinder.

[Halae]

That would either be terrible or amazing, sayt. I'm not certain which.

[unseenmage]

That would either be terrible or amazing, sayt. I'm not certain which.

Confirmed for amazing.

[Ssalarn]

The Technology guide has rules for AIs, perhaps if there's a bestiary section that would include a rampant AI piloting a mech.

...or maybe even a raceless AI in a robot class. it would be novel, at least, compared to the rest of the Pathfinder.

Ran a playtest adventure just the other night where the BBEG was one of the new AIs I've been working on. The party figured out what was going about 30 seconds before it occupied a Colossal mech body it had hidden in a sub-basement of the building they were exploring and blew a whole through 5 stories worth of floors and ceiling before launching out and raining rockets down. It was pretty fun.

A PC AI, huh? Hmmmm....

[Tohsaka Rin]

Will there be any way to play a sentient mech? In mechanical terms it could be as simple as a pilot who can't leave his cockpit - if the mech is destroyed, its core remains intact and can be installed into a new body. Could be fun either as a PC or a cohort, particularly if the mech body allows for multiple pilots. A feat that lets you take on human form would be useful, though, so that a mech PC isn't barred from social situations (alternatively I guess you could communicate through your psicrystal or something).

Sentient mech that takes on human form, eh?

Spoiler

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Prime, you really should check out Bubblegum Crisis.

Ssalarn, what're the chances of us seeing some sort of co-pilot rules for mechs? Be it spreading out actions to make one mech more effective (pilot/melee and gunner), or just providing aid-another actions? Piloting a mech with an in-built A.I. would become a lot more attractive, in spite of whatever extra costs were required. (Gold, sacrificed items, class abilities/features, feat tax?)

[Prime32]

Sentient mech that takes on human form, eh?

Prime, you really should check out Bubblegum Crisis.

Whuh? No, I mean like Power Rangers/Super Sentai does it. A mysterious person shows up in one episode, the rangers save them or earn their respect, then they reveal their true form as a giant robot that had been hiding among humans for centuries. IIRC this Raideen remake did that as well - the protagonist's girlfriend turned into the robot or something. I've seen it in other places, just don't ask me where.

EDIT: Tenchi Muyo had a spaceship that could turn into a human or a "cabbit". Transformers: Supergod Masterforce had the Pretender shells, which were worn by Autobots in hiding on Earth to disguise themselves as humans.

[Tohsaka Rin]

*Cough.* I don't wanna say that...

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The entire plot of BGC revolves around killer robots that look like humans, but most of it does.



It's just pretty dark, is all. Less heroic machine in disguise, more T800 with the personality of the Hulk.

But I guess that's what I'm saying.

[Sayt]

Ran a playtest adventure just the other night where the BBEG was one of the new AIs I've been working on. The party figured out what was going about 30 seconds before it occupied a Colossal mech body it had hidden in a sub-basement of the building they were exploring and blew a whole through 5 stories worth of floors and ceiling before launching out and raining rockets down. It was pretty fun.

Nice!

A PC AI, huh? Hmmmm....

There will, of course, be tons of mandatory Ghost in the Shell references.

Ohh, or Maybe an item that does a destructive scan of a characters brain and plops a copy into a Psicrystal, when can then with the Psi-core Upgrade pilot a mech. Including Medium sized mechs customized to look just like people....

Also, I'm not sure if the questions I had about Mech's Wielding weapons got answered. To quickly and probably more clearly restate:

1. Do two-handed weapons require multiple Weapon slots
2. Does a weapon slot with a ranged weapon have a speific capacity for ammunition?
3. Is a weapons lot equipped with one throwing weapon, or a 'launcher' with a 'clip' of ammunition?
4. How does reloading work with weapon slots and ranged weapons?

Example Problems:
(1)A Bipedal Mech places a Longbow in each of it's weapon slots. If it has Two-Weapon Fighting, does can it fire both in one round, despite the unspecified number of arms?
(2.a)A Tracked/Quadruped mech has taken the Melee Weapon Affinity enhancement (I'd maybe use 'Customization' instead of enhancement; enhancement is a bonus type), and has placed a Falchion each of the weapon slots. Can the pilot of a bonded mech then take Two/Multi-Weapon Fighting? (2.b) Is one weapon slot designated as being the "Primary" slot and others "Offhand"? (This is relevant when dealing with multiple melee weapons and Strength to damage)

Probably more to come later.

[Halae]

As far as a PC AI goes, some consideration has to be taken - without a strength, dexterity, or constitution score, revised point buy rules would have to be worked out to keep people from just dumping all their points into their last three stats and relying on whatever body they put together for physical stats.

The mech rules already seem to have a decent handle on that, though; as long as a PC AI is stuck in one mech, their stats are modified but static, and are simply expanded upon rather than being base numbers.

[Taveena]

Honestly it seems like a playable Construct race a la Warforged, but nonmagical, could make sense here? Just... sapient, playable robots.

Seems easier to balance than a creature with no physical stats, at least.

[Mehangel]

Honestly it seems like a playable Construct race a la Warforged, but nonmagical, could make sense here? Just... sapient, playable robots.

Seems easier to balance than a creature with no physical stats, at least.

You mean like the android race?

[Taveena]

You mean like the android race?

... Does the Android race actually have a type? All I can see is that they're treated as both humanoids and constructs for targeting with no subtypes for either. Which is mostly just WEIRD.

[Sayt]

Honestly it seems like a playable Construct race a la Warforged, but nonmagical, could make sense here? Just... sapient, playable robots.

Seems easier to balance than a creature with no physical stats, at least.

Perhaps the AI has Strength and Dexterity scores, but they represent the capacity to manipulate things they're piloting, So dexterity represents the ability of the mind to use fine motor control?

[Axebird]

Started working on this post yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it (and lost power).

Well, first things first the base damage of monofilament stilettos and chainsaws isn't very far apart. The monofilament stiletto has a base damage of 2d6, and the chainsaw has a base damage of 3d6. That's a gap of 3.5, which is pretty slim- especially at higher levels. Power Attack variance is a bigger deal later on, for sure, but the dramatic accuracy boost provided by armor penetration alters things quite a bit too (plus, 18-20/x3 critical, which is the strongest in the game, compared to 18-20/x2 possessed by a chainsaw).

Also, the monofilament stiletto doesn't break on a natural 1. The fragile quality goes away for masterwork or magical weapons, and seeing as a basic monofilament stiletto already costs 5,000 gp... it's unlikely you'd ever see one in play that isn't at least masterwork, making the quality pretty pointless

Anyway, here's some math on the subject:

Spoiler: Dirty Maths

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Suggested wealth spent on weapons ranges from 19.23% to 50.54%, averaging 35.86%, with a median of 34.83%. 35% of wealth is a solid point to use comparing primary weapon with offense. That gives us a range of WBL applied to weapons from 350 gp at 2nd level to 308,000 gp at 20th. The first level a chainsaw is affordable at is 5th, with a budget of 3,675 gp. The first level a monofilament stiletto is affordable is at 6th, with a budget of 5,600 gp.

A +1 monofilament stiletto is acquired at 7th level. +2 at 9th level, +3 at 11th level, +4 at 12th level, +5 at 14th level.
A +1 chainsaw is acquired at 6th level. +2 at 8th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 12th level, +5 at 14th level.

For simplicity, I'm going to keep this to the capabilities of two basic Warriors with heroic point-buy. Both will start with an 18 in either Strength or Dexterity. The chainsaw warrior has Power Attack, while the stiletto warrior has Weapon Finesse, Deadly Agility, and Piranha Strike. Keep in mind that the chainsaw warrior spent 2 less feats in these comparisons. This setup gives a slight advantage to the chainsaw for comparison purposes, since flat damage bonuses from class features have a greater impact on higher accuracy attacks, and we're only using ability scores and Power Attack/Piranha Strike, which favor two handed weapons over one handed weapons. We're also not including an effect like Improved Critical or keen, which would further push things in favor of the monofilament stiletto (as it possesses the strongest critical range of any weapon ever published by Paizo or Dreamscarred Press). Mostly because I only have so much time and this consumes a lot of it, if further convincing is required I can tack a few more elements on the breakpoints.

Primary ability score boosters are dedicated 20% of each character's budget. This means a +2 item is acquired at 7th level, +4 at 11th level, and +6 at 14th level.

Target AC is calculated using collected bestiary statistics from this project, compared against the median AC of a creature of the same CR.

It's worth noting that from the bestiary (because I can't be bothered to go through all PF sources by hand), there are very few creatures with less than the AP of an appropriate monofilament stilleto. Exceptions are listed here:
CR 6 - Will-o-Wisp
CR 7 - Shadow Demon, Medusa (has Nat AC 3), Nymph, Black Pudding (total AC 3), Spectre
CR 8 - Greater Shadow
That's 7 creatures, out of the 155 CR 6-20 creatures in the bestiary. So, 4.5% of monster targets will either not care about the effects of armor penetration, or will have them slightly reduced. Humanoid targets wearing armor will always be fully affected by the armor penetration of a level appropriate monofilament stiletto, arcane casters using mage armor will be affected by up to 4 points, and manifesters using inertial armor will always be fully affected. Armor penetration from 3-8 effectively acts as a raw accuracy boost in virtually all scenarios.

Non-damage Pros and Cons:
Chainsaw
Pros
+2 morale bonus to Intimidate checks

Cons
-10 penalty to Stealth while active
Requires a standard action to activate after drawing
Requires a supply of batteries (either costs additional gold or character resources, like a psionic character with Psi-core Upgrade)

Monofilament Stiletto
Pros
Only requires one hand (usable while grappled, allows a free hand for things like shields or Spell Combat, can be used with TWF)
Has the effects of Adamantine (low-value, an adamantine chainsaw is close to the same cost)

Cons
No Str-based option

So, DPR comparisons from every level at 6th up follow.

6th level - Target AC 19
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 19, BAB +6, +1 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +11/+6 (3d6+7/18-20x2), Power Attack for -2/+6
Standard DPR: 19.82
Power Attack: 21.25

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 19, BAB +6, masterwork monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +11/+6 (2d6+4/18-20x3/AP 3), Piranha Strike for -2/+4
Standard DPR: 17.86
Piranha Strike: 20.22

7th Level - Target AC 20
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 21, BAB +7, +1 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +13/+8 (3d6+8/18-20x2), Power Attack for -2/+6
Standard DPR: 23.11
Power Attack: 24.93

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 21, BAB +7, +1 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +13/+8 (2d6+6/18-20x3/AP 4), Piranha Strike for -2/+4
Standard DPR: 24.83
Piranha Strike: 27.60

8th Level - Target AC 21
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 22, BAB +8, +2 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +16/+11 (3d6+11/18-20x2), Power Attack for -3/+9
Standard DPR: 31.96
Power Attack: 34.55

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 22, BAB +8, +1 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +15/+10 (2d6+7/18-20x3/AP 4), Piranha Strike for -3/+6
Standard DPR: 28.82
Piranha Strike: 32.47

9th Level - Target AC 23
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 22, BAB +9, +2 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +17/+12 (3d6+11/18-20x2), Power Attack for -3/+9
Standard DPR: 29.39
Power Attack: 31.04

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 22, BAB +9, +2 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +17/+12 (2d6+8/18-20x3/AP 5), Piranha Strike for -3/+6
Standard DPR: 32.00
Piranha Strike: 37.07

10th Level - Target AC 24
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 22, BAB +10, +3 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +19/+14 (3d6+12/18-20x2), Power Attack for -3/+9
Standard DPR: 33.45
Power Attack: 35.68

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 22, BAB +10, +2 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +18/+13 (2d6+8/18-20x3/AP 5), Piranha Strike for -3/+6
Standard DPR: 32.00
Piranha Strike: 37.07

11th Level - Target AC 25
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 24, BAB +11, +3 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +21/+16/+11 (3d6+13/18-20x2), Power Attack for -3/+9
Standard DPR: 46.11
Power Attack: 46.84

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 24, BAB +11, +3 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +21/+16/+11 (2d6+10/18-20x3/AP 6), Piranha Strike for -3/+6
Standard DPR: 52.13
Piranha Strike: 61.73

12th Level - Target AC 27
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 25, BAB +12, +4 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +23/+18/+13 (3d6+14/18-20x2), Power Attack for -4/+12
Standard DPR: 48.07
Power Attack: 46.43

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 25, BAB +12, +4 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +23/+18/+13 (2d6+11/18-20x3/AP 7), Piranha Strike for -4/+8
Standard DPR: 58.97
Piranha Strike: 69.78

Going to skip to increments of 2 levels at this point. I can fill in the rest if people absolutely want it, but the only equipment change left happens at 14th level, and Power Attack/Piranha Strike and ability score adjustments and the last iterative all occur on even levels.

14th Level - Target AC 29
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 27, BAB +14, +5 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +27/+22/+17 (3d6+17/18-20x2), Power Attack for -4/+12
Standard DPR: 63.81
Power Attack: 63.69

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 27, BAB +14, +5 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +27/+22/+17 (2d6+13/18-20x3/AP 8), Piranha Strike for -4/+8
Standard DPR: 70.13
Piranha Strike: 87.50

16th Level - Target AC 31
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 28, BAB +16, +5 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +30/+25/+20/+15 (3d6+18/18-20x2), Power Attack for -5/+15
Standard DPR: 76.24
Power Attack: 71.34

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 28, BAB +16, +5 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +30/+25/+20/+15 (2d6+14/18-20x3/AP 8), Piranha Strike for -5/+10
Standard DPR: 91.20
Piranha Strike: 109.45

Skipping up to 20 at this point, since that's when Power Attack and Piranha Strike get their last adjustment. Otherwise damage output declines slowly on both ends.

20th Level - Target AC 37
Chainsaw Warrior
Str 29, BAB +20, +5 chainsaw
Attack Profile: +34/+29/+24/+19 (3d6+18/18-20x2), Power Attack for -6/+18
Standard DPR: 64.56
Power Attack: 53.26

Monofilament Warrior
Dex 29, BAB +20, +5 monofilament stiletto
Attack Profile: +34/+29/+24/+19 (2d6+14/18-20x3/AP 8), Piranha Strike for -6/+12
Standard DPR: 84.89
Piranha Strike: 95.71

Phew. That was exhausting. But yeah, there's some clear proof on the effects of armor penetration's accuracy amplification- and as pointed out above, this is tame compared to what you'd get within PC classes or with other effects like keen. Criticals across the board were a large influence too, since the monofilament stiletto has the strongest critical range of any existing weapon.

It probably wouldn't be as huge a deal if armor penetration didn't increase with enhancement bonus, which basically just leads to doubling up on the accuracy increase provided by enhancement bonuses. It's still a fairly questionable mechanic, since it works out almost all of the time to be a weapon based accuracy boost, it just requires another step checking numbers to resolve attacks instead of increasing your raw attack bonus. And... stacking on higher accuracy and damage output for martial characters isn't generally considered a good idea, as opposed to special abilities and lateral options- the chainsaw has limitations that make it only situationally superior to, say, a greatsword or falchion, but the monofilament blade is an outright upgrade compared to all existing finesse weapons (and overall a dramatic increase to their offensive power when it becomes available).

[Kiton2]

Whuh? No, I mean like Power Rangers/Super Sentai does it. A mysterious person shows up in one episode, the rangers save them or earn their respect, then they reveal their true form as a giant robot that had been hiding among humans for centuries. IIRC this Raideen remake did that as well - the protagonist's girlfriend turned into the robot or something. I've seen it in other places, just don't ask me where.

EDIT: Tenchi Muyo had a spaceship that could turn into a human or a "cabbit".

Another example would be the Auto-Vajin (that name, though...) from Faiz: transforms from bike into significantly bulkier (totally not because there's a dude in the suit) combat droid to protect its master.

There's also technically a certain belt controlling a certain car in Drive...

[Milo v3]

Question, with the variant that removes misfire.... Are there going to be listed alterations of the abilities that gunslingers, items, and various archetypes have that interact with misfire? Because just looking at the RPG line, none of this content "works" with armour penetration:

• Gunslinger
• Alchemical Cartridges
• Musketeer [Swashbuckler]
• Picaroon [Swashbuckler]
• Crossbow Ace [Gunslinger]
• Musketeer [Cavalier]
• Musket Master [Gunslinger]
• Mysterious Stranger [Gunslinger]
• Pistolero [Gunslinger]
• Trophy Hunter [Ranger]
• Reliable weapon enchantment
• Greater Reliable Weapon Enchantment
• Lucky weapon enchantment
• Unstable Musket cursed item

Honestly it seems like a playable Construct race a la Warforged, but nonmagical, could make sense here? Just... sapient, playable robots.

Seems easier to balance than a creature with no physical stats, at least.

You can put the robot subtype on Wyrwood, according to the Robot subtype.

Edit:

Also, the monofilament stiletto doesn't break on a natural 1. The fragile quality goes away for masterwork or magical weapons, and seeing as a basic monofilament stiletto already costs 5,000 gp... it's unlikely you'd ever see one in play that isn't at least masterwork, making the quality pretty pointless

You cannot have a masterwork High-Tech Weapon. They sort of count as masterwork by default, which is why you can enchant them.

Edit2: psionic boogaloo
There isn't much chance of having the following added since it's occult rather than psionic is there:

Spoiler

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Recharge
Element air; Type utility (sp); Level 3; Burn 1;
You can apply controlled levels of electricity to a device to restore it's battery. This acts as recharge (Technology Guide). Instead of paying the burn cost yourself, you can cause the technology to take the damage. If you do so, the target takes 1 point of electricity damage per Hit Die you possesses.

[Axebird]

Ah, fair point. Forgot about that. Then you're unlikely to ever see one that isn't +1, in that case.

[tekevil]

How about if we throw in at least one virtual or real size increase? It's very very likely the chainsaw user will have both due to y'know enlarge person, Lead Blades, Primal Fury Stance, ect.





Also here's a cheap method of making weapons big for robots...

http://www.archivesofnethys.com/Magi...ming%20Slivers

[khadgar567]

guys I am sorry for math geniuses but can you calculate using two weapons fighting stiletto vs chainsaw
reason
by making dc 5 search google check you can learn stiletto is dagger so we can use two weapons fighting with it

[Milo v3]

guys I am sorry for math geniuses but can you calculate using two weapons fighting stiletto vs chainsaw
reason
by making dc 5 search google check you can learn stiletto is dagger so we can use two weapons fighting with it

Note, there are also ways to two weapon fight with the chainsaw.

[Axebird]

How about if we throw in at least one virtual or real size increase? It's very very likely the chainsaw user will have both due to y'know enlarge person, Lead Blades, Primal Fury Stance, ect.

Only applying one size increase widens the gap in the monofilament stiletto's favor across the board, as it constitutes a +3.5 increase in average damage for both weapons (2d6->3d6 vs. 3d6->4d6) and the stiletto has a large accuracy and critical advantage.

Applying two size increases constitutes a +7 increase for the stiletto and a +10.5 increase for the chainsaw (2d6->4d6 vs. 3d6->6d6), which is slightly favorable (a difference of between for the chainsaw at levels [6, 8-11, 14-20] (narrowing the gap by between 1.02-3.49 DPR), and (extremely slightly) favorable for the stiletto at levels 7 and 12.

Applying three size increases constitutes a +14 increase for the stiletto and a +17.5 increase for the chainsaw (2d6->6d6 vs. 3d6->8d6), which favors the stiletto compared to two size increases (again, due to its large accuracy and critical advantage).

EDIT: On Two Weapon Fighting: It depends. It's feat intensive and has a ton of different potential comparison points that make it a pain in the ass to calculate. At a basic level you could compare standard TWF with stilettos versus a two handed chainsaw, but that's not really going to be a very fair comparison due to the amount of feats expended to increase damage output. You could also get into maneuvers and stances (using Piercing Thunder to enable two weapon fighting with chainsaws), but that's a huge can of worms, especially with Thrashing Dragon in its current state.

Prodigious Two-Weapon Fighting with Powerful Build on the chainsaw end might let you get a decent comparison point. You'd need something comparable to Powerful Build on the stiletto side, but feat costs would line up fairly well; the chainsaw combatant would need Prodigious Two Weapon Fighting, TWF -> Greater TWF, and Double Slice (5 feats), while the stiletto combatant would have Weapon Finesse, Deadly Agility, and TWF -> Greater TWF (5 feats). Pathfinder's to-hit penalty for off-size weapons is an issue, though.

[Tohsaka Rin]

Soooo, how much changes if we make the chainsaw a reach weapon?

Just thinking of those giant chainsaws is all.

[Taveena]

Note, there are also ways to two weapon fight with the chainsaw.

Titan Mauler + Prodigious Two Weapon Fighting + Double Slice, maybe, if your strength is high enough.

Titan Mauler 2/Brutal Slayer 6/Dragon Fury 10, maybe.

[MilleniaAntares]

You mean like the android race?

There's also DSP's forgeborn.

Asking for an AI in a mech is a bit silly, especially when you can more or less RP one of the artificial races and just never leave the mech proper.

... Does the Android race actually have a type? All I can see is that they're treated as both humanoids and constructs for targeting with no subtypes for either. Which is mostly just WEIRD.

I'd presume they're technically one or the other, but count as both similar to inevitables and the like.

Problem with that image: Your bonded mount can only do this if its feats and/or class levels are used to obtain a mech. Now I'm not saying that's *impossible*... But it's probably easier to find someone to be the ambiguously-insinuative Trombe to your burly Daizengar instead.

are we talking arm-mounted plasma drill hurricanes here, or knee-mounted drills from the tank that forms your feet?
:D

Presumably, the archetype for a mech riding a mech would have the mount's mech taken into account into the archetype's budget.

All the drills. Every possible permutation.

[Nyaa]

On robot hardness: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2rez1?Ro...ss-Questions#7

[Halae]

Specific trumps general, so it's up to DSP whether they want their mechs to have energy damage decreased by hardness or not. Particularly given that, as far as I'm aware, mechs aren't actually robots.