Heat Management

Heat is a logistics problem. Efficiently moving thermal energy from generators to sinks is as important as managing ammunition.

Components

A Mecha uses three types of thermal systems to manage its state:

• Coolant Systems: Represent the pipe network and fluid loops. They provide Flux, which is the maximum rate at which heat can be moved per turn.
• Heat Sinks: Provide Capacity to store burst heat during combat.
• Vents & Radiators: Remove heat from the mecha. Vents are active and require Energy, while Radiators tend to be passive but heavier.

The Flux Loop

Heat follows a two-stage process limited by the mecha's total Flux:

1. Inbound: Heat moves from active systems into the fluxpool.
2. Outbound: Heat moves from the pool into Heat Systems (Sinks and Vents).

The heat in flux cannot exceed the total Flux rating. Any heat generated beyond this limit becomes Residual Heat trapped within the generating component. If the fluxpool reaches maximum capacity, the mecha suffers chassis-wide instability, affecting speed and computer systems.

Overheating

Thermal failure occurs when systems store more heat internally than their capacity allows (most non-Heatsystems have 0 capacity). Components with Residual Heat begin to Overheat, risking malfunction or explosive failure.

Overheat Check

At the end of any turn where a component has more heat than its capacity, the pilot must perform an Affinity Check, using a heat management skill if they have one, and the thermal hardening level (if applicable) of the system as Skills.

The result of this check is compared against the component's Residual Heat. If the result is lower than the heat stored, the system suffers a consequence.

Any 6-Resonance in the Overheat Check introduces additional heat.

Reactor Shutoff Delay

Energy Systems may not stop generating heat instantly. Every Energy System has a Shutoff Delay. When a reactor is deactivated, it continues to output its full baseload heat for a number of turns equal to its Shutoff Delay.

Heat Systems

Notes:

• Radiator Wings: 5 turns to deploy. Vulnerable while extended (no armor applies).
• Coolant Dump: Discharges 25 heat + 25L Coolant as a decoy mist or smoke screen.
• Overdrive: Once activated, the fluxpool is uncapped. Heat in the fluxpool instead annihilates heat when assigned to a sink. Mech shuts down once the fluxpool either stays full or all the heat has been annihilated. Requires repair (Practice, Gadgets check) afterward. While this is running, the mech acts twice as fast.
• Fractal Heatsink: Can be activated to STOP its heat output, which is useful for stealth.