Here is a list and explanation of the Skills you must use to create a pilot character. Remember that skills are capped at 10. Along with the Skills explanations are explanations of the corresponding Characteristics.

First of all, if you want to be a pilot, you will need to take piloting skills. These are:

• Pilot: Jet (MR [TECH + REF - 10])
• Pilot: VSTOL (MR [TECH + REF - 10])
• Mecha Piloting (MR [TECH + REF - 10])

Note that these Skills show how good you are at three different types of piloting. Pilot: Jet means you can fly any jet-like aircraft, including your Valkyrie in fighter mode. Pilot: VSTOL means that you can fly any aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing, including helicopters and the GERWALK mode of your Valkyrie. Mecha Piloting means that you can pilot a giant robot, like a Destroid or your Valkyrie in battroid mode. Note that you do not need to specify which Valkyrie(s) you are best in. Your GM may choose, based on these numbers and based on your character history, to make it more difficult for you to fly a craft that you aren't accustomed to. Higher levels in these Skills gives you a better chance for success.

The other aspect of whether or not your piloting maneuvers are successful is the Characteristic related to the Skill in use. These piloting skills are all related to MR, Mecha Reflexes, which is computed by adding your TECH and REF Characteristics and subtracting 10. The higher your MR, the better pilot you are, so you may wish to keep these Characteristics in mind when building a pilot character. The highest MR you can possibly have is 6 (8 + 8 - 10; Characteristics are capped at 8), and the lowest MR you can possibly have is -8 (1 + 1 - 10). The following table might make it easier for you to see how TECH and REF affect MR. TECH runs along the top, REF runs along the left side, and you can see the values for each possible MR in the remaining area. So, for example, a character with a TECH of 5 and a REF of 5 would have an MR of 0.

Here is an example of how MR values might break down:

Bear in mind that it's only possible to get a value higher than 6 with GM approval. Also remember that these are simply guidelines, and that your GM might use slightly different values.

The next step in creating a pilot character is giving him/her the necessary skills to operate sensors and weapons. So:

• System Operations - Sensors (MA [TECH + INT - 10])
• Gunnery (REF)

Again, the higher the value of the Characteristic(s) related to the Skill and the higher the Skill, the greater your chances of being successful. Mecha Awareness (MA) is similar to MR in that it is created by adding two Characteristics, TECH and INT, and then subtracting 10. This Characteristic is important because it determines your character's ability to understand what the sensors and indicators in the mecha are saying. The tables for MA values and competence would be the same as the tables for MR, using TECH and INT instead of TECH and REF. (Since both stats involve TECH, it might be a good idea to make sure your TECH, at least, is high.)

Try to make your stats realistic to your character history. Was your character a Marine before becoming a pilot? If so, he/she probably already has a high Gunnery Skill (as well as other Skills that are not necessarily directly related to piloting).

Next, you need to be able to fight hand-to-hand. Any hand-to-hand skills you have outside of your mecha you are assumed to have while piloting your mecha in battroid mode.

• Hand-to-Hand (REF)
• Hand-to-Hand Evade (REF)

These are Everyman Skills, which means you get two points each to start with automatically. They're pretty basic skills that you would be taught in the Academy. If you want to know Martial Arts, then you have to add that skill:

• Martial Arts: [Specific School] (REF)

And finally, you need to be able to handle G forces:

• Resist Torture (BODY)

Remember that together, the Characteristic and Skill will be used, plus a die roll, to determine whether or not your actions are successful. Think about how good you want your character to be at each particular Skill. You might want to put an extra point or two in the Characteristic related to that Skill.

The above are the base Skills you will need to be a pilot. These will allow you to dogfight, and dogfight well, depending on how many levels you choose to take. However, there are other Skills you might consider taking in order to enhance your combat performance. The above Skills do not cover fighting intelligently and efficiently--take Tactics (INT) for that. If you want to be good at programming your combat computer, then you need Computer Programming (TECH). If you want to be able to find your way home when you're out in the middle of nowhere, Navigation (INT) is for you. Maybe you want to be an expert at Stealth (DEX)? There are many different Skills that could make you a better pilot; check out the Skills List to see which Skills best describe your character.

There are also certain Talents that might help you be a better pilot. Acute Senses, Ambidexterity, Blind Reaction, Combat Sense, Direction Sense, High Pain Threshold, Intuition, and Time Sense are examples of Talents that could be useful to you. Each Talent will cost you 3 OP.

Other things to consider are Perks and Privileges and whether or not your character is a different race/species; Zentradi receive combat modifiers due to their innate strength and abilities. You should also think about Gear and Equipment. As a military character, the things you need to survive will be provided for you, but if there are any possessions that you wish to keep permanently, you'll need to spend OP on them.

After all this, your 40 starting OP might be a little low, and maybe you don't have enough points to create what you'd consider a well-rounded character. Well-rounded characters are favored by GMs, so it might behoove you to take some Complications and wrestle some more OP out of the system. The highest number of OP you can get without GM approval from Complications is 75. You also get additional OP for age, three OP for every two years your character is over the age of 16. This means that a 20-year-old character could start out with as much as 121 OP (40 + 75 + 6).

If you are an experienced player who has been on the AMRN for some time, you may petition Admin for permission to use more OP in the creation of a veteran character.