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Lancer RPG NPCs Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Info for using NPCs in Lancer RPG (cause I always forget the differences from PCs lol)

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Quick Actions

Boost
The NPC moves spaces equal to Speed.
Grapple
The NPC makes a melee attack against a character adjacent to them with a bonus of +1/2/3, grappling them if succes­sful.
Hide
The NPC becomes Hidden.
Prepare
The NPC prepares a quick action to take as a reaction, using the player rules.
Skirmish
The NPC attacks with one Auxiliary, Main, or Heavy weapon.
Ram
The NPC makes a melee attack against a character adjacent to them and their size or smaller, with a bonus of +1/2/3. On a success, they knock their target Prone and may also knock them up to 1 space back.
Quick Tech
The NPC chooses one of the listed Quick Tech options or one listed in its profile
Search
The NPC makes a contested Systems check against the Agility of a Hidden character within Sensors. On a success, the target ceases to be Hidden.

Damage and Heat

NPCs only have 1 Structure and are destroyed when they reach 0 HP. NPCs with additional Structure follow the standard rules for structure damage.
NPCs deal fixed amount of damage instead of rolling dice.
NPCs can't perform critical hits. If an NPC performs a critical hit, it usually adds damage or has different effect, instead of rolling damage twice and choosing the higher.
Some NPCs, like mechs, have a Heat Cap. By default, these characters have 1 Stress and become Exposed when they exceed their Heat Cap instead of making an overhe­ating check. NPCs with additional Stress follow the standard rules for overhe­ating.
Some NPCs don't have a Heat Cap; instead, they take heat as energy damage.
 

Full Actions

Barrage
The NPC attacks with up to two Auxiliary, Main, or Heavy weapons, or one Superheavy weapon. If they are attacking with more than one weapon, they may attack one target or several.
Disengage
For the rest of their turn the NPC ignores engagement and their movement does not provoke reactions.
Full Tech
The NPC chooses a Full Tech option, or two different Quick Tech options.
Improvised Attack
The NPC makes a melee attack with a bonus of +1/2/3 and deals 3/4/6 damage.
Stabilize
The NPC clears all heat and the Exposed status, and reloads all Loading weapons.

Tags

Mech
These NPCs are ambula­tory, mechanized cavalry units (like the PCs).
Vehicle
These NPCs are vehicles of various descri­ptions, other than mechs and ships.
Ships
These NPCs are vehicles capable of space and atmosp­heric travel.
Biological
These NPCs don't have a Heat Cap, are immune to tech actions other than Scan and Lock On (including beneficial ones), and can't take tech actions unless specified.
Squad
These NPCs aren't individual people - instead, they are a large squad of smaller enemies that act together.
 

Reactions

Overwatch
When a character starts any movement in threat range of an NPC's weapon, that NPC may take the skirmish action against them as a reaction. An NPC can only overwatch once between turns unless specified.

Quick Tech Options

Invade
The NPC makes a Systems vs E-Defense tech attack against a character within Sensors. On a success, their target takes 2 Heat and is Impaired until the end of their next turn.
Lock On
The NPC chooses a character within line of sight and Sensors: they gain Lock On.

Other

Actions
NPCs can't Overcharge or Brace and don't heal or clear conditions when they Stabilize.
Recharge
Some NPC systems and weapons have a special tag: Recharge. Once these systems or weapons have been used, they can’t be used again until they are recharged. The Recharge tag also lists a target number (e.g., 4+ or 5+). At the start of NPCs’ turns, roll 1d6 if they have any Recharge equipment: if the result is equal to or greater than the target number, they can use it again. Only one roll is required per NPC, even if they have multiple Recharge systems.
Traits
Many NPCs have abilities with a special Trait tag. These are character qualities that aren't based on systems - they can't be disabled or destroyed by damage.
Systems
NPC systems that can be destroyed by system damage (from structure checks) are marked with the System tag.