Mecha Update

Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve done a lot of writing about Mecha. I have no good excuse, so I won’t try to offer one.

Instead, I’ll just announce that we have some good news!

Mecha is not dead!

Yep, you heard it here first.В  (Or maybe you heard it on Story-Games.com or RPG.net)В  Anyway, you’re hearing it now.В  In fact, I have the publisher’s go ahead to produce five supplements for the Mecha RPG.

Even cooler, a really talented writer named Jacob Ross has sent in the final manuscript forВ a brand new Mecha SRS called Paladin Service, which is a Tokusatsu-style mecha anime game.В  (If you don’t know what Tokusatsu is, it’s okay.В  I had to look it up.В  It’s basically Power Rangers or could also be … wait for it … Voltron.В  Does that mean that there are Voltron rules for Mecha coming out?В  Read on…)В  Anyway, I am extremely excited about the work Jacob has done and can’t wait to see that book get published.

Oh, and Tanuki, if you are reading this, where is the Bollywood SRS?В  Serious?!

Other Mecha Supplements

So, like I said, I will writing or co-writing 5 supplements, several of which should be ready in time for Gen Con.В  Each one fills a niche that the basic Mecha book didn’t have room to cover.В  They are:

Combiners

So yes, this is the official announcement.В  Combiners is being written.В  What are Combiners…think Voltron… many mecha forming one.В  “I’ll form the head” and all that.В  In fact, my hope is that the game will be called Mecha: I’ll Form the Head, but I have a feeling I’ll get sued.В  In which case I’ll call it Beast Queen Stoplion.В  (Not really.)

I have the first draft of the rules “as recorded by” Mark Reed with Mark doing a lot of the flavor text.В  It’s sitting in my inbox collecting dust.В  I need to work on it and work on it soon.

Living Robots

After Voltron, the next most requested supplement is Transformers.В  For now, we’re simply calling them Living Robots.В  Most of the ideas I have for this are taken directly from threads across RPG.В  The basic idea is that robots have their out of combat stats (ie pilot stats) and their in-combat stats (link stats.)В  I’m going into playtest with that idea.В  We’ll see if works.

Mercenary Companies

My favoritist part of BattleTech was always starting my own mercenary company.В  By extension, Mecha needs rules to do the same.В  The challenge here will be to have all the fun of running a merc company without adding too many numbers to crunch.В  I am also seriously considering adding another skill to this setting: Logistics.

Kaiju

The least well thought out of the five books.В  I am going to camp on my friend’s couch and watch kaiju movies until inspiration hits me.В  I may tap Jacob Ross for this one as he seems a fan of the genre.

Dirge of a Dying Earth

Dirge is a setting that came out when I was writing the Mecha core book.В  Each of the Configuration descriptions have a quote from a pilot that uses that Configuration.В  The vast majority of the quotes are from the three settings in the game.В  However, a few were from books that had been kicked around in playtesting.В  One of those was Dirge of a Dying Earth.В В  The funny thing is is that was all I had.В  That title.В  Nothing else.

So one night in a playtest, I sprung this setting on my players.В  In the game, everyone created characters in a post-apocalyptic setting who discovered their mecha and then started to go crazy.В  We never finished the game, but eventually they would be given a choice: destroy the known universe or let evil win.

So, I’ll be writing up that setting here shortly.

Okay, that’s what I got.В  I would appreciate any feedback.В  Thanks!

Filed under: Announcements, Mecha | 3 Comments »