What's the closest you can get to a mech in a purely fantasy setting?
By purely fantasy setting I mean you don't just "the world is actually post-apocalyptic and the civilizations before had mechs which we now use as relics"
Without having a sci-fi foundation to start on, how close can you get to mechs?
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A golem that you can sit inside and pilot through magical means.
Dragonmech was a d20 open that had that. Escaflowne and Dunbine was an anime that had that.
I like chris perrin's mecha, its easy to make fantasy mechs in, haven't though.
Covering a giant in armor and riding on it like master blaster
...
You can get to...mechs? They can just be magic. Or magi-tech. Or pure tech, in a setting where magic and supernatural creatures are real.
You're only caveat was that they not be relics from a technologically superior precursor civilization. So okay, they can be purely mechanical mechs that exist in a fantasy world. Fantasy is not defined by the absence of industrial technology.
Probably a golem or magic construct you rode in or something, if you felt suicidal enough to ride in something that would normally take verbal commands anyway. Maybe some steampunk shit or making essentially a robot from metal and shoving a demon into it.
Man, poor Dragonmech. It was such a good and well executed idea in the core rulebook, even despite being d20 based, but every book they released after that just made the setting shittier and shittier.
One of these days I'm going to dust my books off and port that setting to a better system.
There are boatloads of weeb material that use fantasy mecha. Pick one.
More important question.
What's the closest you can get to a fantasy mech in terms of miniatures?
Mechs, but powered by magic instead of electricity.
Totally agree. I like the other books because I liked the first, but even at the time I could tell it was shit rules, getting too into cogs and too weeb.
It was fun though.
The same mechanical principles behind a mech, namely having a bunch of mechanical actuators arranged to operate a limbed body with weapons on it work fine if its magic instead of diesel or electricity or whatever.
If anything, probably a lot easier because you have access to mechanisation techniques that are tailormade for humanoid forms, like golem summoning, animate statue, buff spells etc.
To be honest, mech construction seems like a logical response to WIZAAAARDSSS being concerned about their inferiority in an immediate engagement to say, some random buff guy wielding a tree branch, or a panther.
Having a two seater mech that is part wizard shooting out spells and maintaining the mech, part retainer pilot operating the contingency spells on the mech seems a fairly obvious battle formation.
Also, in a world with magic, breaking eye contact is big as far as avoiding supernatural effects usually. Even regular troops might well have visor feeds from helmet cams that allow them to see well in all lighting conditions and avoid mesmerism or illusion.
Obligatory WATCH THIS ANEEM PLS fictional inspirations: Break Blade, and Knights & Magic both present settings where the backbone of industrialisation is magic and they decided to make giant robots with them. Neither are particularly *good* overall, but with respect to explaining the construction of a giant robot in a fantasy setting they are very good.
>Knight and Magic
>Not good
senpai...
There's been dozens of anime that cover this very concept
Also I remember the game that art was going to be for, shame nothing ever happened with it
Another option is an animal or monster of some kind that's big enough for you to get inside of it's skull and command it through it's brain.
>big enough for you to get inside of it's skull
Surely that would kill the beast, no?
I will automatically watch anything that contains mechs. And Knights & Magic, now that I've given myself some time to get stockholm syndrome, has some really interesting and unique dynamics to it. The things that happen in Knights & Magic are top notch.
However, the general direction and writing in the show are atrocious. I haven't actually seen The Room but I can only imagine I would find something similar if I watched it.
The primary cast just make no fucking sense as people, the pacing and scene direction are non-existent, and nothing ever happens that mind constitute a significant setback for El. On the contrary, the only surprises that ever happen are unexpected steps forward.
Now I know you're going to say that "Hey the nicked his prototype" but I will point out the following: Not only did he handily recover one of the prototypes intact, but he LITERALLY WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN. He doesn't give the slightest fuck about his entire country's ancient oath to devote their whole economy to making giant robots to fight the demon beasts ravaging the continent, he wants mechs to fight mechs. Which he can't do unless
a) The enemy get cool mechs as well
b) An actual war between nations that use mechs starts.
That specific fact, I will grant, is the major thing that made me not drop this show. Because at the very least in some sense the protagonist is ideologically at odds with the world he lives in.
But don't you fucking dare imply that the show is good enough to be excellent in spite of its faults, let alone that it has good writing.
Arcanapunk does exist, so I could see some kobolds or other small race using a golem in a similar sense to a mech
Presumably these creatures take long enough to die from this sort of thing that a method for keeping them alive can be enacted before they actually do. Magic is probably involved somewhere.
>turns out that's literally what Zoids are
Not that guy, but if you have magic you can:
a) Just use necromancy to bring it back
b) Heal it or toughen it to the point that it doesn't die from this obviously lethal wound, and then ritual cast a super strong mind control from inside of it.
c) Physically merge with or possess it somehow.
You definitely have options.
magic powered robots that shoot magic missiles and elemental beams
...
On the Golem thing... if they operate using only a single input method (only voice, or only touch, or something) then a 'mech' would be a Voltron of Golems. There's the arm and leg Golem(s) that only mimic your actions when you're in the cockpit, there's the weapons Golem that activates certain weapons or spells using voice activation when you're in the cockpit, and then there's the cockpit slash escape pod Golem that's set to return to a designated place if the outer shells get too damaged.
Or, another magic mech idea would be using Unseen Servant to hold and control the oversized armor you're wearing.
Next time Hephaistos crafts one of his automatons, like Talos, ask him to put a cabin for regular humans to control it.
Say it's his chance to get heroes of his own. A greek mythology setting could have mechas and not!zoids around easily.
>Hephastus builds mecha to look down upon chad gods and slut wives
>Attracts mortal pussy in ways Zeus never could hope for
>Zeus and the other gods proceed to curse Hepastus and all who dare look up to him for attempting to gain respect
>the Titans break out
>the gods are without weapons
>after a terrible defeat, they have to un-curse Hephaestus and followers
>Greek heroes in mecha VS the Titans
>Technology created to replace magic, which has mostly faded from the world.
>It's powered by sucking the life out of the few magical creatures left or their dead bodies and a steam engine.
I never realized how messed up Cid's work was.
>RF Online
holy crap I forgot that ever happened
Look up the greatest fantasy mecha setting ever concieved.
DRAGON MECH
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Read the thread before posting.
>Ctrl F
>Only two mentions of Escaflowne
ES KA
FLOW NE
Giants in full armor. Golems. Giant animated suits of armor or statues. 1:72 Gundam or Armored Core kits.
I'm actually sorta running this right now.
>ES KA
>FLOW NE
DUN
DUN
DUN
Just the golem is enought tho
Play Exalted, get a warstrider.
Fuck you, now I'll have Dance of Curse playing in my head for the rest of the day.
also check'd
That looks like a medieval Battletech`s Awesome mech.
Fuck yeah, Zoids.
ALL mechs are fantasy.
They require such a departure from logic and physics that their inclusion automatically changes the setting they're placed into Fantasy.
>barrels the size of naval guns
>only making pistol size dents in the ground
Huh?
Uh... Sub-caliber discarding sabot type rounds, maybe?
>being chased by giant steam tophat mech with monocle boob hatch being driven by man with monocle and tophat
>trying to defeat it by eating dozens of bananas to leave peels so the pincer legs will slip
>while fleeing on a monowheel
Not sure if realistic caliber-to-barrel was a concern here.
Depends on how realistic you want to be with your setting. You can have full blown fantasy mechs no problem if you're ok with not sweating the details and just filing it under rule of cool.
You're on an anime board and you haven't seen Escaflowne?
whew lad