Lancer NPC - Aegis
Core Detail Overview
Stats
The Aegis is a techno tank, leaning more on the “tech” side of that. It’s got high Systems, Engineering, Armor, E-Defense, and Heat Cap; low Agility, Evasion, and Speed; slightly above-average HP, and slightly below-average Sensors. The low Speed does hurt when it needs to move into a good position, but once it likes where it is, it tends to be pretty stationary (on account of its core system forcing it to be Immobilized). The Sensor range isn’t much of a problem for the Aegis itself since it matches its weapon range, but it does mean the Aegis can struggle to toss around Lock Ons for allies. This all can put the Aegis in an awkward spot where its stats are fine for what it mainly wants to do (camp out in a Defense Net), but then it’s left without much else it can do once that’s in place.
Base Systems
Light Laser is nothing special as a weapon compared to offensive NPCs, but it’s the only damaging weapon of any support-type NPC in the core book, so I suppose that counts for something. The slightly short range isn’t too bad most of the time since the Aegis tends to attract PCs close to it, and while it has low accuracy, inflicting Burn on hit is welcome. That all said, if you’re in a position where you’re relying on Light Laser to win an encounter, it might be best to accept that the NPCs have probably lost. Plinking away for some extra damage when the opportunity presents itself is fine, but the Aegis’s main purpose is to keep its allies up, so doing something to support them (even if it’s just Lock On) can often be a better use of a quick action. The main exception to this is if Burn is particularly threatening to the PCs, which it can be for frames like Blackbeard or for players who just hate investing in Engineering.
Defense Net is the heart of the Aegis as an NPC. Not only does this give the Aegis and any other characters/objects fully within a fairly large area (Burst 3) roughly the equivalent of hard cover that also works against tech attacks, plus critical hit immunity from attacks originating outside of the bubble, which can stack its Difficulty with any actual soft or hard cover, all lasting for a potentially-unlimited duration, but any allies (and only allies) also become immune to Impaired and Slowed, meaning that they’re only taking some Heat damage from basic Fragment Signal Invades and getting to ignore a fair number of proc effects. This does take a full action to deploy, though, on top of inflicting Immobilized on the Aegis, so it has to start its turn pretty close to where it’ll want to stay before using it (unless the NPCs have ways of moving it around with involuntary movement). All in all, this is pretty much the gold standard of any NPC’s ability to fortify an area, even without considering any optional systems to further enhance it, making the Aegis act as more of a defender/support hybrid than a pure support. That all said, it’s not foolproof, and since the Aegis itself isn’t much of an offensive threat, its allies will need to help keep the PCs out of the bubble and deal with attempts to disable the Defense Net via Stunned/Jammed/death. The Recharge on this is fairly likely, at least, but don’t be surprised if the Defense Net going down is followed swiftly by NPC losses.
Regenerative Shielding is mostly to help the Aegis get where it wants to be with the immunity to Slowed, but the critical hit immunity can be very useful for adding durability, particularly against PCs using things like Centimane or a Variable Sword from Mourning Cloak 3 that have extra on-critical effects, and being immune to Impaired can help keep up its saves/checks, at least. Not the most thrilling trait considering the effects all overlap with Defense Net, but it’s certainly not bad for giving a little extra defense until the Aegis can set up its bubble, and unlike Defense Net, the critical hit immunity still works against attacks originating within the bubble.
Optional Systems
Adaptive Shielding depends a lot on what else is in the Defense Net, since it does nothing for the Aegis itself. If the Aegis is just holding an artillery nest with a Bombard or two, this won’t do much. If it’s got a Bastion bodyguard and some Scourer backup, this suddenly becomes much more interesting. Regardless of that, though, it does increase the targeting priority of the Aegis itself (both since the effect triggers only if an ally takes damage, not if the Aegis does, and since the Aegis does not benefit from the Resistance), which may mean the Defense Net as a whole is going to go down sooner. It’s got its uses, and the mechanics can add a nice little prioritization puzzle for the players to solve, but getting the most value out of this requires a composition that’s good at protecting the Aegis and ideally also capable of redirecting damage into other NPCs who don’t have Resistance (with the Bastion probably being the best at that).
Guardian is normally an alright defensive trait, but with the Aegis being only Size 1 by default, even adjacent allies will often struggle to use it for cover. This can maybe be a fine splash if the terrain favors funnelling the PCs through a choke point, but I’d consider it the weakest of the Aegis’s optional systems. However, if the Aegis grows up to Size 4 with the Ship template or if you just decide to make the Aegis larger, this suddenly becomes much more useful, potentially outclassing Hardlight Cover System since it’s a constant passive effect that doesn’t need Recharge and can stack with Defense Net to impose a whopping 4 Difficulty on incoming ranged attacks.
Ring of Fire gives some area-denial potential to the Aegis by debuffing enemies in the Defense Net. How much this actually matters depends on the PC composition, but in general, this is a high-risk/high-reward option that is at its best when the Aegis has dangerous allies who can gang up on anyone daring to enter the bubble. Just keep in mind that a PC can just enter the bubble and destroy the Aegis on the same turn, reducing the impact of this to merely 2 Heat, so this system by itself isn’t enough to overcome the Aegis’s weakness to enemies in its face.
Hardlight Cover System is my favorite Aegis optional system, even with its description being incomplete (personally, I rule it as being 4 spaces high since most barrier walls in Lancer have the same length and height, and I rule it as not being an obstruction because the Hardlight Defense System in Saladin 2 doesn’t obstruct mechs, but both points are ambiguous as written). Being just a quick action, this leaves a spare quick action for a Boost to get the Aegis into position, which is its main advantage over Defense Net before the bubble is up. If Defense Net is active, this lets it stack on more Difficulty, grants Resistance to AOE effects (though Blasts can often bypass it, as usual for any cover), and does not have a duration, meaning the walls remain at least until the end of the scene. This effect is arguably better than the Barricade’s Mobile Printer, with the same Recharge value, albeit taking a quick action instead of a protocol to activate. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the Recharge, this could be a complete alternative to using Defense Net at all. As it is, though, it’s just a very good secondary option that helps further solidify the Aegis as a defender/support hybrid.
HA Blackwall System is a rather silly system. Requiring a Line 10 of clear space can often make it tricky to use at all (at least in the sort of maps I’m used to), and costing a full action makes it hard to justify the opportunity cost in most cases. There are pretty much only three scenarios where I think there’s any significant potential for this to be worthwhile. The first is using it as a general barrier against long-range attacks while other controller/area-denial NPCs get set up (primarily Engineers and/or Seeders, since their set-up doesn’t have Recharge, though a Barricade or Hive willing to gamble could also get some benefit from it). The second is using it behind short-range PCs after they’ve gotten close to the Aegis (and presumably its allies) to cut them off from mid/long-range PCs. The problem with both of those is that, while the Blackwall does block line of sight/effect, it does nothing to stop Arcing or Seeking weapons, nor does it actually block PCs willing to chance moving through it, so while it can potentially provide some protection/separation, it’s got a lot of holes in its performance. The third use is specifically for sitreps judged by which side holds a control zone at the end of a timer (like Gauntlet); put up the Blackwall near the end of the next-to-last round, and then knock PCs into it during the final round so that they’ll have a 50% chance (or 75% if they’re moved directly on a space of the Blackwall before they’ve had their turn) of being stuck in blinkspace when the score is tallied. If the Aegis could control where characters appear from their blinkspace trip, or if characters reappeared at the start of their turn instead of at the end, this would be much better, but as it stands, it’s simply too flawed, inconsistent, and exploitable by the opposition to be good. It’s still capable of being a lot of silly fun, but I can’t take it seriously.
Templates Overview
As with the Ace, I am compelled to start this out by mentioning that the Aegis loves working with a Ship- or Vehicle-template ally who can ferry it around, so that it suddenly won’t be quite so stationary while Defense Net is active. Using the default NPC sizes, a Vehicle Bastion or Support give the best Speed at Size 2 (which will maximize the Defense Net area available for other NPCs). I also like this a lot with a Ship Ace, Breacher, Hornet, Mirage, or Operator, since those can all work well as Ships and benefit greatly from Defense Net, though be wary that a Size 4 Ship is going to leave very little room for any other NPCs to fit in the bubble unless they’re also on board.
Grunt is a terrible template for the Aegis, unless you just want to set up a lot of Hardlight Cover Systems. The idea of several Defense Nets may be nice, but Grunts die so easily that the chances of actually getting much benefit from that strategy are slim.
RPV is decent, on the other hand, since Regenerative Shielding cancels out No Pilot, and the Difficulty on tech attacks originating outside of Defense Net offsets Vulnerable To Tech, so it’s almost just a free extra bit of HP.
The Aegis base kit has little pressure for its actions once it’s set up, so templates that give it more actions and reactions tend to work well. Commander’s Voice of Authority doesn’t need line of sight and thus isn’t hampered by the Aegis’s low mobility. Spacer’s Concussion Gun can be good for knocking intrusive PCs out of Defense Net. Mercenary’s Scout Drone can further boost the Aegis’s supporting potential (though mind its low Sensors), and Bounty Hunter can make Light Laser a little more threatening as long as the bounty isn’t immune to Burn. Pirate’s Coreworm Rockets and Slaver Signal being full actions isn’t much bother for an Aegis that has its Defense Net set up (I’d stay away from Splinter Rounds since the Aegis is not built to land critical hits). Any of the extra actions from Exotic or Ultra can work nicely. In general, I favor picking offensive or supportive options since the Aegis is fairly solid defensively with its base kit, though Ultra’s Siege Shield is notable for encouraging PCs to get into the Defense Net if you want synergy with Ring of Fire.
Ship and Vehicle are both good fits with the Aegis, too. While being slow and self-immobilizing during Defense Net mean that Transport will have limited value, the low Speed means that Vehicle’s Limited Mobility isn’t much of a problem and can be more than offset with Treads Or Hover on maps with a lot of difficult terrain (and/or with NPC allies who want to make difficult terrain). Ship expanding the Aegis up to Size 4 makes Defense Net cover a ridiculously large area (and its effects help offset the general inability to take cover at that size), as well as making Guardian a much more useful optional system, plus the immunity to Prone patches up a particular flaw with Defense Net.
General Use
Overall, the Aegis is a sturdy tank that helps protect its allies from ranged assaults and tech attacks, while having some (limited) capacity to deal Burn damage, in exchange for being fairly immobile. It’s at its best when it can camp out and pressure PCs into approaching, with most of its actual impact being from Defense Net and Hardlight Cover System reducing incoming hits and effects so that its allies can be more aggressive. Since it can’t move while Defense Net is up and has no native means of negating/reducing enemy cover, it usually wants to position itself someplace where the PCs will have to approach through clear lines of sight (with its own defensive systems making up for being in the open itself), but remember that the Aegis is meant more for support than its own offense. If it’s protecting artillery NPCs who’re bombing the shit out of the PCs while being very difficult to hit in return, wasting its own turns is usually a reasonable trade.
The two main weaknesses of the Aegis are PCs getting in close and involuntary movement dislodging it. It has very limited answers to either, so the other NPCs will have to make up for that if they want to keep getting the benefits of the bubble. Remember that the Defense Net can be dropped as a protocol, though, so if it has recharged, the Aegis can deactivate it, move as much as it can, and then put it up again as a full action; the low Speed means it probably won’t be able to move back to where it had started, but at least it’s something.
Additionally, since an Immobilized character can’t stand up from Prone, the Aegis can be vulnerable to that effect setting it up to eat a lot of damage. Whether it’s worth dropping a Defense Net that hasn’t recharged in order to stand up is very dependent on context.
Typically, the Aegis will spend its first turn or two using movement and Boost to get where it wants to be (potentially putting up a Hardlight Cover System along the way for temporary protection), then activate Defense Net once it is in place. After that, its options become quite limited, so it can be a decent NPC to take a low-value turn while others are waiting for a better time to act. Aside from using whatever other systems it may have, it will typically be choosing between a Light Laser Skirmish, Lock On, Invade, knocking back a melee threat with Ram, or Hardlight Cover System for even more defenses. Invade has a better chance to hit by default than Light Laser, but Light Laser’s Burn is usually more threatening than Impaired and 2 Heat unless an ally has a scary ability that requires a save, so which to favor depends on the situation. Generally, I’d say tossing a Lock On for someone else to use is the best first option, then a Light Laser if a hit (or a hit plus one tick of Burn) would cause Structure damage or if the potential targets are all Impaired already, then Invade, but that’s a loose sketch of a flowchart at best.
In terms of sitreps, anything that requires mobility from the NPCs (like Escort) is going to be rough unless there’s a Ship or Vehicle to taxi the Aegis around. Sitreps where it can set up camp on a single major area (like Gauntlet) are ideal for it, though anything where it’s free to sit back and concentrate on making its allies harder to kill while mixing in some opportunistic offense can work. That said, as a support unit, the Aegis’s performance depends heavily on its team, so even a bad sitrep for it can be made up for if its allies can compensate for its shortcomings.
Compositions of Note
There are two main ways to play the Aegis effectively, either with an entrenched NPC deathball trying to maximize the use of Defense Net or with the Aegis protecting the NPC backline while more aggressive allies press forward to engage.
For the former, I find the best way to pick allies for the Aegis is to check for two criteria: are they likely to benefit from the Defense Net, and can they deal with PCs who try to get into the Defense Net themselves?
Those two questions help show why the Ace is actually a good teammate; Defense Net addresses the Ace’s fragility and vulnerability to tech attacks while being large enough to not hamper its mobility, and the Ace’s ability to dish out consistent damage on low-Armor enemies over a large area of patrol helps deal with Fragile Speedster-type PCs trying to approach through cover, while the Burn damage on Light Laser (and the Ace’s general action flexibility to apply Lock On either before the Aegis’s turn or after the Aegis has consumed it) helps to fend off high-Armor/low-HP enemies. The Assault also fits well as a solid mid/close-range striker with good durability (and basically all of their optional systems make sense for camping inside the bubble), and the Demolisher can be a major deterrent against getting close while appreciating not needing to move much (though watch out for friendly fire with Broad-Sweep Haft). The Pyro is also a solid defender for a deathball approach, with its Firebreak Shield providing extra cover, Explosive Vent being small enough to generally avoid friendly fire, and Flamethrower’s damage increasing on targets with Burn (such as, say, someone hit by a Light Laser), while Defense Net helps compensate for its average Evasion and E-Defense. When in an NPC cluster, the Avenger applies a lot of pressure about triggering Revenge, especially if it’s also using optional systems to make that ability stronger. The Engineer loves having time to set up Deployable Turret drones along with protection for them, as does the Seeder with Lay Mines or the Hive with Razor Swarms (albeit requiring Recharge). The Barricade can be a decent fit along similar lines, especially with other area-denial systems for when Mobile Printer isn’t available, though be careful about friendly fire from Seismic Repulsor. The Scourer is also a notable ally for this style, since sitting still lets it activate Cooling Module, and Thermal Lance having the same range as Light Laser means that Light Laser and Focus Down can combine to really stack up Burn on a single target. Lastly, while fielding the Support alongside the Aegis does compromise damage potential, its short-range systems pair nicely with Defense Net to make an NPC cluster which is capable of both healing and status cleansing on top of the bubble’s protection, and using Sealant Gun to goop up difficult terrain around the bubble isn’t a terrible use of quick actions when the Support has some downtime.
With the deathball, it’s usually a good idea to have a Size 2 NPC with decent Speed and spare quick actions (the Bastion works well for this) to Grapple the Aegis, in case it needs to be moved while Defense Net is active. The main NPCs to avoid are short-range attackers that tend to rely on mobility; the Berserker, Breacher, Cataphract, Hornet (except as a Ship for Transport), Ronin, and Sentinel are all poor fits, in my opinion. I also dislike the Goliath for a deathball, because being Size 3 just takes up too much space in Defense Net.
For the split approach, the Aegis will typically assume the defender role for the backline (ideally with Hardlight Cover System stacked on top), and the allies that fit best with this are ones that can do well at long range without much worry about cover. The Bombard and Rainmaker are the most obvious fits, both being strong stationary artillery with weak defenses that would appreciate being in the bubble and with Arcing main weapons that are able to cause Knockback (with an optional system, in the Bombard’s case) to further delay approaching PCs. The Mirage, the Spite, and the Witch are always nasty when given support to make them more durable, and their long Sensors often allow them to still use their tech attacks while hanging back. The Operator and the Sniper have the Range to work with this style, but I tend to prefer them as flanking units to force PCs into picking whether they’ll have cover from the roaming artillery or from the Aegis’s nest. The Strider can also be an interesting fit with this approach, particularly if it’s continuously swapping between Marksman and Siege Kits to keep up Resistance on top of the Defense Net ranged Difficulty, be able to make adjustments for line of sight when using the Ranger Long Rifle, and spread around both difficult terrain and hard cover that lasts for the scene on Siege Kit swap.
There is one other way I’ve found the Aegis to be effective, and that’s as a Burn squad together with the Pyro and the Hive, possibly with a Scourer as well. This group does have a weakness in that PC frames with Resistance or Immunity to Burn will crush them, and systems like Whitewash Sealant Spray from Lancaster 2 or Redundant Systems Upgrade from Sherman 2 can greatly reduce their threat, but against PC compositions that don’t have good answers to Burn damage, they can build up some devastating Burn stacks that may even keep ticking away after they’re all dead. It’s definitely a gimmicky use, but Burn is a strong gimmick when it works.
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