Sumo wrestling, one of the earliest forms of martial arts, is the national sport of Japan. In Sumo, strength and power are important but proper form and good tactics are equally important. Wrestlers vied with each other to gain the title of Yokozuna (Grand Champion) in rigidly defined contests held each year in Japan, but early in the 21st century the unthinkable happened – the fans of Sumo started to get bored with seeing the same old faces in the ring, and began to drift away, seduced by the faster moving, more colourful and flamboyant Western sports which they could watch from the comfort of their own homes.

With their sport rapidly approaching a crisis, the Sumo Kyokai (ruling council) met to try and find a solution to bring the young Japanese back to their beloved sport. It is not recorded who came up with the idea, but it was suggested that the strengths of modern Japan should be merged with the culture and traditions of Sumo, and that Sumos should use their skills and abilities to battle high-tech state-of-the-art robots, and so the Sumo Meks were born.

Due to the new technical requirements (and also to bring in lots of young men) a new class of assistant was created – that of the Pit Stop Babe. These young women were chosen from the most beautiful and academically gifted Japanese, trained in robotics and mechanics and they accompany their massive creations to the dohyo.

• When a Mek player rolls for Chi, they should refer to the Mek Chi table instead of the normal one.
• Sumo Meks have an extraordinarily long reach, and can initiate a slapping attack from a distance without fear of reprisal. This can only be done when the Mek starts its turn facing its intended target, and is also no more than one Mek base width away. The Mek player rolls 2d6, and on a score of 3,7 or 11 a wound is caused. The player being attacked cannot retaliate in any way, but human Sumos may dodge this attack by rolling a successful turning attempt (including all modifiers). (This dodge cannot be used when being attacked from the rear) Other Meks may not avoid this attack as they do not have the honed reflexes of a human Sumo. If a Mek chooses to use a slap attack, this will take up its entire turn. It may not move either before or after the attack, obtain assistance from its Pit Stop Babe or do anything else.
• When being charged by a Mek, a human Sumo can attempt to sidestep the charging robot by making a successful Turning roll (including all modifiers). If a Mek is sidestepped, then it will speed past it’s target for a further d6 inches (as if it had failed a turn roll), and the human can be positioned to face any direction . This prevents the Mek from being able to attack that turn, and gives the Human the opportunity to attack twice on their next turn, possibly from the rear. If the human is prevented from attacking the Mek next turn (either by the result of a Chi roll, or by being attacked by another player in a multi-player game) this extra attack is lost.
• Referees, Geishas and Pit Stop Babes. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed and deaths, all Meks are fitted with an avoidance circuit which is designed to damage the Mek if it tries to injure a non-combatant. Some clever Pit Stop Babes have circumvented this safeguard, but the original programming tends to surface the more damaged a Mek becomes. Use the normal Non-Combatant Chart for collisions with Meks.
• If there is a conflict between the original rules and these new rules, the new interpretation takes precedence.

Mek Chi Table Roll