Characters

Characters are the engine that drives the strategic and tactical gameplay of MENACE. They lead squads of infantry or pilot vehicles during missions, representing and coordinating the elements you deploy, and can grow to have either positive or negative relationships with each other, influencing their combat performance. They are all unique, pre-written personalities each with their own background, preferences, and goals. You begin with a selection of characters from the Terran Congressional Republic Marines, but you can and will be expected to recruit more from the various factions of the Wayback System itself. They can die permanently in battle, and if you lose too many, your campaign will end in failure.

Characters can be divided into two types: Squad Leaders and Pilots. Squad Leaders are the command element of infantry units, operating a unique weapon (if chosen) while the other elements, called Squaddies, are generic grunts who can be renamed at the player's behest but have no unique dialogue or personalities. Each squaddie represents a percentage of the infantry unit's HP, and a squaddie dies when the unit's HP is reduced by that percentage, weakening its morale as well as its number of attacks per turn. If a unit's HP is completely depleted and all its squaddies have been eliminated, the remaining Squad Leader is incapacitated, or "bleeding out," and must be "stabilized" by another Squad Leader before he or she is lost permanently. Vehicles cannot stabilize injured Squad Leaders, or rescue Pilots! A stabilized squad leader cannot be used for the rest of the battle but will not die.[1]

Pilots command vehicles such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, and bipedal combat walkers (mechs). They are incapacitated and must be rescued when their vehicle has suffered critical damage and has been destroyed.

Both Squad Leaders and Pilots have skills in a Perk Tree that can be unlocked as they gain experience and are promoted through surviving tactical battles. While some skills are shared among different characters' perk trees, each character has a special unique perk entirely unique to him or her. Characters also have their own statistics (AP, Discipline, etc). [2]

Properties of Characters

Statistics

Each squad leader/pilot comes with a variety of different skills and characteristics. There are 8 different stats in total: [3]

Character Stats
Name	Description
Action Points	Each character has a limited number of AP per turn for actions like moving or using skills.
HP per Element	Total damage a unit can sustain before losing an element; for example, a unit with 10HP and five elements can absorb 50 damage before being incapacitated.
Armor Value	Depends on the armor the squad has equipped. Higher armor value requires more penetration to inflict damage; durability decreases with each successfull stop of a bullet.
Discipline	Reduces suppression effects and improves recovery; higher discipline lowers retreat likelihood. Morale tests are also done against the discipline of a unit.
Accuracy	Determines hit chances for attacks; can be affected by suppression and improved by deployment.
Detection	Measures the squad's ability to find hidden enemies, subtracted from enemy concealment.
View Range	Distance in tiles the squad can see and reveal enemy units; large obstacles can block sightlines, preventing the detection of enemy units.
Concealment	Measures how effectively a squad can remain hidden while in the field of view of enemy units; enhanced by environmental factors like cover.

Additionally, all characters start with one unique starting perk already unlocked. These perks vary greatly between characters and are designed to make each character feel unique.

Furthermore, each character has their own perk tree that can be unlocked through promotions. While not all perks are unique to each character, the selection and order of unlocks will differ.

Promotion and Demotion

↪ Main article: Promotion and Demotion

Squad leaders and pilots can be promoted with promotion points that are earned, for example, through completing missions. Promoting a character does not happen automatically. It must be done by the player.

The cost of promoting the same character increases with each promotion.

Characters can hold one of eight ranks, ranging from (1) Lance Corporal to (8) Master Gunnery Sergeant.

It is possible to demote a character. Although a small portion of the invested promotion points will be refunded, the affected leader will not be pleased.

Squad Leaders

Name	Portrait	Unique Perk	Affiliation
Jane Darby		File:High Value Target Icon.png High Value Target	Marines	50	10	70	70	0	9	0
Charles Lim		Aspiring	Marines	50	55	70	70	0	9	0
Marta Carda		?	Marines	50	10	56	56	0	9	1
Edwin Pike		Stalwart	Marines	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tekko'Beo Phosa	File:Tekko'Beo Phosa Portrait.png	File:Rampage Icon.png Rampage	Marines	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jean Sy		Economics	Pirates	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kody Greifinger	File:Kody Greifinger Portrait.jpg	File:Guerilla Icon.png Guerilla	Unaligned (Former Marine)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
?	File:? Portrait.png	File:? Icon.png ?	?	-	-	-	-	-	-	-