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Mecha rpg : Apocalypse frame vs beam saber (vs lancer (vs mekton Z) ) ? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 year ago by Ziggurat@sh.itjust.works to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

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Hi Folks, I took itch Games for Gaza bundle. Among the games in the bundle, I've seen 2 mecha games, Apocalypse frame and Beam saber, I believe the first one is a PTBA and the second a FITD, I have no opinon on these "system family", it's vague enough that it can lead to a good or bad game.

I've been considering running a mecha game, for a while. Last time I played a mecha campaign it was a Mekton Z (at the time when code geass was the popular anime). I've even downloaded the free version of lancer, but only had a quick look (and the fact that atribute have weird 2-3 letter name like LL gave me the impression it's a complicated game). Now, I have a few games on my "pdf library" and need to choose one to read in details. These last years I focused mostly on one-shot/mini campaign (10-20 sessions once every 2 weeks)

I am not really sure which direction to take. I am too old to spend a whole session on a fight, and traditionally, I am more a Mystery/investigation GM. Mecha wise, I like how Macross feature the duality between artists and fighter offering two ambiances in one, while I love how Gundam isn't just good versus evil (and then I really enjoyed Geass, but it's not really a mecha anime). RPG wise, on the sci-fi games I GMed a lot of fading suns, and some Eclipse phase (the example of a game with a great setting but a bad system)

i haven't checked in details the setting of the 3 games from my thread, but it seems they're semi setting agnostic. I might re-use some element from Eclipse phase and focus on the solar system rather than a whole galaxy.

Any opinion on these system/settings and which one I should choose (beside reading 3 times a 300 pages manual to decide ?)

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[–] 8bitMage@ttrpg.network 2 points 1 year ago

MechWarrior: Destiny

BattleTech is originally a tabletop game, but MW: Destiny is their latest PRG ruleset and is designed to play like a narrative driven game like FATE system. No need for maps, minis, or anthing like that. The rules can also be blended with the various systems, Classic BattleTech tabletop, AlphaStike quick miniatures rules, and the various other MechWarrior RPG editions, to find a balance you & your players are looking for.

More importantly, the BattleTech universe has decades of lore development with hundreds of sourcebooks and novels spanning many, many, many different major eras of the universe.

One of the genius things the original authors did was write in many different mysteries into the lore. Many of those have been answered over the years of development, but some still remain and if you're players are not familiar with the universe, you can just utilize any of them as the center of a campaign.

And of course it has Giant Stompy Robots.

Off the top of my head I'd think a campaign where your players are MechJocks/Mercenaries for an Interstellar Expeditions team trying to track down the origins of the Minnesota Tribe in the deep Periphery would a good possibility.

The game also has ties art-wise back to the Macross/Robotech transformable Valkyries. They literally exist in BattleTech as the Phoenix Hawk, Wasp, & Stinger Land-Air-Mechs. They're not popular in universe, and generally poor units for tabletop, but there's nothing really holding them back in the MW: Destiny rules and I could see the flexibility they offer would make sense for an Interstellar Expeditions team.