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(-4)

About Drops.

They are mentioned several times, but we encounter the rule only at page 15, under GM Turn. I suggest to turn that part into a specific paragraph with its title (Drops, or something like that...).

Also, about the usage, and the meaning in fiction, let me ask if I'm getting them right. Let's say I defeat a couple of enemies (side note: defeat isn't a coded word, in the book, I suppose you could stay with Taken Out), both at Far distance. Then, it's GM turn: he activate his mecha, then at the end of his phase he rolls for the Drops. Are those Drops something not entirely rooted in fiction? Are those more meta-gamey? I mean, those Drops aren't located in the hex where I defeated the enemies, nor the Aces need to retrieve them, correct? Are they simply a sort of videogame bonus directly applied to the Aces that want them?

If this is the way, then you could add a little bit of details about their nature, and/or put an optional rule that root them more in fiction, ie. the Drops are described as real useful stuff really... dropping... on the battlefield by the wasted enemies, and the Aces at least need to move to that hex to retrieve/use them. Useful? Or maybe not in the spirit with the simple, low book-keeping, nature of the game? However, more info about them should be useful, imho.

PS: about the Ace Turn and GM Turn. I suggest to call them Aces Turn, and GM Turn. Also, while English isn't my mother language, I think that, at the start of GM Turn paragraph, page 15, this phrase could be explained better, or put it down in a different way: "After each Ace has taken their turn, the GM has one enemy Activation per Ace."
From what I understand, all the Aces does their turn (so, Aces Turn), then GM does. I'd put it as: "After that all the Aces has taken their turn, the GM has one enemy Activation per Ace." In the original description, I could take that "each" as: 1st Ace Turn, GM Turn, 2nd Ace Turn, GM Turn, 3rd Ace Turn, GM Turn etc. Am I the only one having that doubt, reading that phrase?

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PS: page 18, under Colossus and under Running Enemies, and at page 27, under Ace Upgrades, "drops" is worded low-case. Very minor thing, at page 27 some row has "." at the end, some other don't.
PPS: should I give Drops every time I take out a Prime enemy, even if he "regenerate" himself with Restorations? On the contrary, they are really stingy dudes 😆. Also, about them, at page 18 I'd rephrase their paragraph, to something like that:

Prime enemies are special enemies. They have 6-8 Vigor and often have Armor or Shields.
They have an additional attribute, Restoration (usually 1 or 2, as shown in the enemy stats). When they hit 0 Vigor, they’re temporary taken out until the next GM Turn. At the start of the GM Turn, they remove a point of Restoration to regain full Vigor and Shields, lose any conditions or effects, and make a Move before the GM Turn starts as usual (this Move can be an Attack, and doesn’t prevent the Prime enemy from Attacking again if Activated during that GM Turn).
Once they have 0 Restorations left, they become Desperate. This means any move they make on the GM turn may be a Desperation Move, and they are being taken out definitively if defeated again.

A last bit about them: Prime enemies obviously feel like the enemy elite character, better defined in a campaign style game, and USUALLY recurring characters along the episodes / missions (the Antagonists at page 26, maybe), more than specific kind of mecha-models. So, probably could be cool to have all the enemy models like standard enemies, and a quick, easy add-on to turn them to Prime (when used by elite enemy characters, or simply when they are critical for the specific mission). The add-on could be:

Vigor: +4 □□□□ Armor: +1

Restorations: choose: □ / □ □ 

Create those Desperation Moves to the standard ones:

• ____ (a raging attack)

• ____ (a rally move, a defensive tactic)

• ____ (a maneuver that change the combat, a modification in the battlefield)

Is this interesting? Too complicated?

Finally, I'd put a nice mechanical way to manage the recurring enemy characters, ie. When temporary taken out, they can use a point of Restoration to make a tactical retreat (describe it in fiction). That enemy is safely removed from the mission, to be met again in a successive mission or encounter. The point of Restoration used for the retreat is lost forever (so, after a few safe retreats they'll have to fight and meet their destiny).

Is this cool? Maybe it could be an addition to the Adversaries at pag.26.

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You can feel free to write that up as your own FBTA supplement! But I’ve written the game I wanted to write and that’s unlikely to change.

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Sure thing! Of course I'm just giving feedback / inputs.

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Page 28, Crisis Clocks

"A Crisis Clock is advanced by risky actions, shirking responsibilities, or failed missions."

I suppose this is more like "advanced by foolish actions gone wrong, ..."

I mean, all Aces should try risky actions, and impossible missions, all the time 😁

i aint readin allat