The Business: The Twilight Of The Slop Merchants Has Come

A follow up on the bot potential.

Last night I hit up Grok and prompted it to use Mekton Zeta Plus to stat up this classic mecha.

And this is what it spat out in less than a minute.

To stat up the MS-06 Zaku II for R. Talsorian's Mekton Zeta using the Mekton Zeta Plus build system, we’ll create a detailed build based on its characteristics from the Mobile Suit Gundam Universal Century lore. The Mekton Zeta Plus Technical System (MTS) provides a comprehensive framework for designing mecha, so we’ll use it to translate the Zaku II’s capabilities into game terms. Since the MS-06 Zaku II has numerous variants, I’ll focus on the standard MS-06F Zaku II, the iconic mass-production model from the One Year War, and note where assumptions are made based on lore and Mekton’s mechanics.

The process will involve defining the Zaku II’s configuration, weight class, armor, systems, weapons, and propulsion, while staying true to its depiction as a versatile, reliable, but relatively basic mobile suit. All stats will align with Mekton Zeta’s rules, with Zeta Plus enhancements for precision.

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MS-06F Zaku II Build in Mekton Zeta Plus

Step 1: Configuration and Scale

• Configuration: Humanoid (Mobile Suit). The Zaku II is a bipedal mecha with two arms, a torso, and a head, mirroring a humanoid form.
• Scale: Roadstriker (1:1 scale in Mekton terms). The Zaku II stands at 17.5 meters tall, fitting within the 10-20 meter range typical for Roadstriker-scale mecha (as opposed to larger Mekton-scale units).

Step 2: Weight Class

• Weight: The MS-06F weighs approximately 58.1 tons (dry weight) and 73.3 tons (gross weight with propellant and equipment), per Gundam lore. In Mekton Zeta, weight translates to a Cost Multiplier (CM) and efficiency. For simplicity, we’ll use a Medium Heavy weight class (50-66 tons), which aligns with its dry weight and gives a CM of 0.8. This reflects its mass-production design—sturdy but not overly heavy.
  • Effective Weight: 58 tons (dry).
  • Cost Multiplier: 0.8 (Medium Heavy).

Step 3: Armor

• Material: Super High Tensile Steel (per lore). In Mekton Zeta Plus, this is best represented by Heavy Steel (3 SP per Kill, Cost 1.5 CP per Kill). It’s not as advanced as later Gundam alloys like Luna Titanium, but it’s durable for a grunt unit.
• Stopping Power (SP): The Zaku II’s armor can withstand small arms and light explosives but is vulnerable to beam weapons and heavy artillery. We’ll assign 5 Kills of armor (15 SP) across all locations, balancing durability with its lore-based vulnerability.
  • Head: 5 Kills (15 SP, Cost: 5 × 1.5 × 0.5 = 3.75 CP).
  • Torso: 5 Kills (15 SP, Cost: 5 × 1.5 × 1.0 = 7.5 CP).
  • Arms (x2): 5 Kills each (15 SP, Cost: 5 × 1.5 × 0.75 × 2 = 11.25 CP).
  • Legs (x2): 5 Kills each (15 SP, Cost: 5 × 1.5 × 1.0 × 2 = 15 CP).
  • Total Armor Cost: 37.5 CP.

Step 4: Servos (Structure)

• Servo Level: Medium Striker (5 Kills of structure, 5 MA ground). This fits the Zaku II’s balance of durability and mobility for a mass-produced unit.
  • Head: 5 Kills (Cost: 5 × 0.5 = 2.5 CP).
  • Torso: 5 Kills (Cost: 5 × 1.0 = 5 CP).
  • Arms (x2): 5 Kills each (Cost: 5 × 0.75 × 2 = 7.5 CP).
  • Legs (x2): 5 Kills each (Cost: 5 × 1.0 × 2 = 10 CP).
  • Total Servo Cost: 25 CP.
• Mobility: Base MA of 5 (ground), adjusted by propulsion later.

Step 5: Powerplant

• Type: Fusion Reactor (Tech Level 5, per Gundam’s setting). In Zeta Plus, a Standard Fusion plant provides 1 MW per Kill of servo mass (25 MW total here).
• Output: 951 kW (~0.951 MW) per lore, but Mekton scales this up for gameplay. We’ll use a 25 MW plant (matching servo mass) for simplicity, with excess power vented or unused due to design inefficiency.
• Cost: 25 CP (1 CP per MW).

Step 6: Propulsion

• Thrusters: The Zaku II has a total thrust of 43,000 kg (43 tons), per lore, with backpack and leg thrusters. In Mekton Zeta, 1 Kill of thrust = 10 tons. We’ll use 4 Kills of thrust (40 tons, slightly rounded for simplicity).
  • Location: Main thrusters in Torso (3 Kills), secondary in Legs (1 Kill shared).
  • MA (Space): 8 (4 Kills × 2, per Zeta Plus rules).
  • Cost: 4 × 5 = 20 CP (Space-capable thrusters).
• Ground MA: Remains 5 (from servos), as legs are primarily for stability, not speed.

Step 7: Systems

• Cockpit: Basic Cockpit (1 pilot, torso-mounted, 1 CP).
• Sensors: Main Sensors in Head, 5 Kills range (5 hexes, 5 CP). The Zaku’s mono-eye is iconic but basic.
• Manipulators: Two standard arms with hands (5 Kills strength each, 2 CP total). Can wield weapons or punch (1d6+2 damage).

Step 8: Weapons

• 120mm Machine Gun (Zaku Machinegun):
  • Type: Projectile Weapon (Autocannon).
  • Damage: 3 Kills (based on 120mm bore, scaled per Zeta Plus guidelines: ~√(120/8) ≈ 3).
  • Range: 9 hexes (3 × 3).
  • WA: 0 (standard accuracy).
  • Cost: 6 CP (3 Kills × 2, handheld).
  • Ammo: 100 rounds (1 CP).
• Heat Hawk (Type 5):
  • Type: Energy Melee Weapon (Beam Saber equivalent, but heat-based).
  • Damage: 4 Kills (moderate power, per lore).
  • WA: +1 (melee precision).
  • Cost: 8 CP (4 Kills × 2, handheld).
  • Power: 1 MW per turn (rechargeable).
• Shoulder Shield:
  • Type: Shield (Right Arm-mounted).
  • SP: 5 Kills (15 SP, matches armor).
  • Cost: 7.5 CP (5 × 1.5).

Step 9: Final Calculations

• Total CP:
  • Armor: 37.5
  • Servos: 25
  • Powerplant: 25
  • Propulsion: 20
  • Systems: 8 (Cockpit 1, Sensors 5, Hands 2)
  • Weapons: 22.5 (Machine Gun 7, Heat Hawk 8, Shield 7.5)
  • Subtotal: 138 CP
  • Weight Multiplier: × 0.8 (Medium Heavy) = 110.4 CP
• Weight Check: Base weight (servos + armor + systems) ≈ 55 tons + thrusters (4 tons) + weapons (5 tons) ≈ 64 tons. Close to lore’s 58.1 tons dry, with propellant pushing it to 73.3 tons gross.

Step 10: Stats Summary

• Name: MS-06F Zaku II
• Configuration: Humanoid Roadstriker
• Weight: 64 tons (effective)
• Cost: 110.4 CP
• Armor: 5 Kills (15 SP) all locations
• Structure: 5 Kills all locations
• MA: 5 (ground), 8 (space)
• Weapons:
  • 120mm Machine Gun: 3K, WA 0, Range 9, 100 rounds
  • Heat Hawk: 4K, WA +1, 1 MW/turn
  • Shoulder Shield: 5K SP
• Power: 25 MW Fusion
• Crew: 1 pilot

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Notes The Zaku II’s simplicity is preserved: it’s tough but not invincible, mobile but not agile, and armed for versatility rather than overwhelming power. The weight is slightly higher than lore’s dry weight to account for Mekton’s abstraction, but it’s within reason for a combat-ready unit. Variants (e.g., MS-06J Ground Type or MS-06S Char’s unit) could adjust thrusters, weapons, or add systems like extra sensors or speed boosts. This build should work well in Mekton Zeta campaigns, offering a solid grunt unit that’s outclassed by aces like the RX-78-2 Gundam but still dangerous in numbers! Let me know if you’d like tweaks or a variant statted up.

What Does This Mean?

It is not 100% correct. (Mekton is 1:1 Scale, not Roadstriker.) It is 99% percent correct, and thuse Good Enough for most purposes. Once Grok gains the capacity to output this into a PDF document, especially if it can output to a specialized document form such as a Mecha Record Sheet or directly into a VTT of choice, then that's what will set off the collapse.

Right now, we're in a moment where the PDF Slop Merchants are hurriedly churning out bot-generated slop as fast as they can to get up on DriveThru and Amazon to sell to suckers and fools. That moment is brief, and will close shortly; once it not only becomes easy to generate this stuff, but to put it into a ebook or POD format, those same Slop Merchants are screwed.

Why? Because if they can use bots to churn this stuff out, so can everyone else! No, "promptsmith" will not be a viable replacement business either. At most you will need copy editors to double-check output for compliance--see above--and bots can do that too; soon even that will be out of all but the most elite of human hands. Generate all of the art assets you need, including things like procedural flowcharts, with the bots. Then have the bot do the manual layout with human direction, which too will soon not be needed.

And yes, from here it's a short step to automating it all and then you're back to Vidya.

Do you see now why Wizards of the Coast is confident that abandoning Tabletop for Vidya is the smart business move? Bots can generate slop content for Next Edition's Walled Gardens indefinitely, don't go on strike, require little downtime (not none; you folks ought to know that now), aren't politically active (and thus can't be liabilities for Public Relations or execute coups in the office). For the Mammon Mob that own and run Conventional Play this is a no-brainer.

Normies don't go out of their way for a damned thing, especially entertainment. If they can just get what they want with a prompt and a bot, they'll go with that and feed the output into their VTT and that's that. Add in bot party members and bot Referees and you're really in Vidya and only wearing a Tabletop skinsuit. Don't expect them to ever give the Real Hobby the time of day ever again.

The Tabletop Adventure Game hobby as we know it is going to become an occult practice. The Clubhouse is the only place where it will survive. While I am no Bulterian, we're going to be faced with the fact that this is an analog medium persisting in a digital world. Don't expect those old games and products to remain for sale indefinitely either; the Mob isn't any more rational than the Death Cult. Archive everything now while you can, and collect physical copies before they all go away and we're stuck with guerilla POD to replace them.