L A N C E R - brand-new Mech RPG by the creator of Kill Six Billion Demons

there's one already out! in fact if you go to his twitter you can see that in the last few weeks while he was on vacation he spent a lot of it doing illustrations for the K6BDRPG

Hope you're still here OP. I haven't read it yet, but a guy on RPG.net described it as "It seems a lot more VOTOMS at the low end or Five Star Stories at the high end than it looks Gundam"

VOTOMS to Five Star Stories is a fucking ridiculous power scale. Five Star Stories mecha are fucking crazy, while VOTOMS scope dogs are tin fucking cans. This is a ridiculous power scale. Is there any truth to this?

i am still here, and will be lurking for a while!

although I'm not super familiar with either VOTOMS or Five Star Stories yes i know its embarassing I would say that statement is definitely not super accurate - I'd say its closer to VOTOMS than Five Star. although the lore and stuff is very elaborate and awesome in its semi-mystical way (thanks to our amazing loremaster Miguel) the power level of mechs is still fairly grounded - things like rail guns and giant laser cannons are the top tier weapons, and you won't see crazy anime fighting moves unless you're an insanely high level, and even then i'm not so sure.

Give us a quick rundown on combat then OP

Interesting, thanks!

here goes!

mech stats use H.A.S.E - Hull, Agility, Systems & Engineering. Hull determines a mech's HP, repair rate & melee attack modifier. Agility determines evasion (think AC/TN) and speed. Systems determines your Electronic defense (how resistant your mech is to hacking) and your sensor range, as well as your ability to hack, scan or lock onto other mechs. Engineering determines your heat capacity (beyond which your mech has the danger of overheating, with catastrophic results), your cooling rate, and your repair cap (# of repairs you can make per mission). Armor and Aim also act as secondary stats.

turns consist in a way that will be familiar to those who have played D&D or other combat-heavy RPGs. your turn consists of a movement, an interaction, and an action. actions include the following:

> attacking
> hacking (Electronic Warfare or Invasion as its called)
> locking on
> reloading (for heavy weapons)
> scanning
> stabilizing systems (trying to unfuck your mech if you feel you're taking on too much heat, or fixing a broken weapon or system)
> bracing (preparing for intense fire)
> grappling
> boosting (moving again basically)
> ramming (knocking a mech down or back)
> hiding
> shutting down
> ejecting your pilot
> jockeying another mech, if you're in a hardsuit outside of a mech
and last but certainly not least
> self destructing

in addition, each turn you can also choose to Overcharge your mech, which lets you perform certain actions (boost, ram, reload, activate a system or item, or fire a weapon). overcharging is risky though as it is an easy way to generate a lot of heat, especially if you use it to fire a big ass gun.

like D&D there are opportunity attacks, reactions, free actions, and other more nuanced stuff that i don't really need to get into here. there are also end of turn actions for thinks like automated turrets, drone systems, adaptable shields etc.

the combat flows extremely smoothly and satisfyingly, at least in our playtests!

i should mention that heat can naturally build from certain actions - firing dangerous weapons with poor heat cooling, or using a system or item to do something such as, for example, activating a holo shield or sending out drones or whatever. some weapons also deal damage to other mechs in the form of heat! heat can be a dangerous thing to manage - but there are also a lot of fun builds (that I personally loved in playtesting) that revolve around carefully balancing pushing your mech to the limit while also trying not to explode yourself. there are even perks and talents for certain backgrounds that support this archetype - notably Nuclear Cavalier!

this probably isnt the greatest explanation so let me know if there are specifics I can answer!

All this VOTOMs talk makes me want to stat out Chirico.

A quick look at character creation says

>Name: Chirico Cuvie
>Background: Spec Ops
>Fields: Infiltration (demolition, stealth), Survival (terrestrial, space,
frontier, urban), Weapons (military, melee, close quarters, heavy)
>Traits (Stoic, Determined, Vengeful)
>Pilot Equipment: Armor Magnum Anti-tank Pistol, Pilot Suit w/Helmet, Scope
>Skills: (Ace, Skirmisher, Veteran)

...

Oh Abbadon, must you send my body raging out of control...

This guy has no clue what he's doing when it comes to designing games. He really should just stick to drawing.

op here! i will be gone for a few hours while i'm at class, but let me know if you have any Qs or comments while i'm gone and I'll try to answer them when i return!

Mind sharing your wisdom with the class, then?

Oh shut up.

It's a pretty simple idea, mate.

Tom Parkinson-Morgan does not have experience with game design, and has only had experience with drawing and writing an online comic. Unless he's hired someone to help him design the game, it's very likely that whatever product he creates will be riddled with issues. At least the art would be nice, and the writing MIGHT be good, so if that's all you're looking for then you can go hog-wild with hype.

lol

haven't read the doc so keep that in mind, but it IS possible that his game isn't trash despite his inexperience, no? To discount it solely because he's not a game designer is a bit rash.

...

...You do realise how retarded a sentiment 'if you aren't good at it, never try' is, right?

His last "game" being pretty terrible and this one looking out to be also mediocre is more than enough to paint him as a guy better off sticking to art.

Why would he ever do that? Vague empty statements of opinions are all anybody needs to get (you)s.

This reminds me a lot of a VOTOMS and Titanfall.....Fuck. I want to throw money at Abbadon to fully support this.

Sounds like you need to get his dick out of your mouth first so you can go get your wallet.

Nor does anyone who ever made a Veeky Forums homebrew. I'd ask you if you'd deny Veeky Forums its homebrews, but I get the feeling you're the kind of faggot who'd say yes.

I can do both at once, but you should try pulling the stick out your ass all the same.

But more seriously at first glance the rules look decent for an alpha and the various mech designs and equipment all look pretty neat and honestly there aren't enough Mecha games out there, especially mecha games at this scale. If this gets any serious work and refinement...

It looks like a clusterfuck of halfbaked ideas by a guy who's trying to reinvent the wheel but only has a vague understanding of circles. The engineering/heating business is particularly cumbersome, and was done much better in the games he stole it from.

I've seen better mech games made in under an hour, putting this rather low even in the homebrew category.

What's the lore and setting gonna wind up being like? There's some blurb stuff at the start that puts me in mind of Honor Harrington before it got sucky and a bit of Battletech. (The Union sounds a lot like the Solarian League and the Terran Hegemony.)
Abaddon is great with worldbuilding so I'm kinda excited to see what he can come up with.

>Abaddon is great with worldbuilding

>i bet if i slap together some faux-religious iconography, the middle schoolers will think I'm deep!

Then why not give some actual feedback and constructive criticism on what could be done to fix what you perceive as problems rather then just be a shrill negative nancy decrying how the game is super awful just because of whose making it.
This looks like a solid idea to me with some decent crunch.

Contrarian hipsters vs Mech fans who want something, anything

Because hating something is how you look cool and with it on Veeky Forums. Liking things is also how you look cool and with it on Veeky Forums. And Veeky Forums hates Reddit, for many reasons. So that's two big reasons right off the bat to hate everything.

I chose this image specifically because of the 9gag tag and I hope it makes someone mad

Yes yes, if you hate K6BD's, this Homebrew game and the author of both so damned much and not planning on contributing anything meaningful, then why are you still here?

Whups, I meant to say, liking things is how you look cool and with it on Reddit. what a supremely ironic Freudian slip

I'd like to see those games, but I'm pretty sure you're talking out of your ass.

And which game did he steal the mystical concept of engineering/heating from? You're not one of those fatguys that falls apart if I ask for evidence are you

the heating thing does sound like Mech-Warrior, desu

But i'd call that an homage not a ripoff

But how else will I show people I have discerning tastes without hating on everything?

Right. So your a Troll that can't even Troll right. Gotcha.

I'd be trolling if I wasn't telling the absolute truth, and the correct response is smug anime girls.

>drive.google.com/file/d/0B-VjHwZgQPqVbUtDeThuNXJtSk0/view

Looking forward to trying it out. Thanks OP. Have a Glitterboy.

Okay, sell me on this: if I want to play a crunch-heavy mechs game, why would I play an RPG, as opposed to a minis game like BattleTech or Ronin?

That's what came to mind when I saw the mechanic for heat, heat management adds a bit of depth to gameplay. Especially since it seems tied with some of the stronger weapons.
But I'd have to look it over again to be sure.

>summon the defense force

It's some thoroughly amateur game, where the nicest thing you can say about it is that the guy tried. There's better mech games with crunch (and much more intelligent crunch, because this system falls into that horrible no man's land where its written by a guy with no apparent particular expertise, and clearly only rudimentary mechanical, technological, or military knowledge), as well as simpler games that run a hell of a lot easier compared to all the little fiddly bits stapled to this game's chassis and that seem to be there just for the sake of making it seem more complex rather than adding anything enjoyable to the system.

I wouldn't be surprised if half the fun OP is having with the system is just taking part in the role of playtesting, and more power to him, but don't act like everyone needs to love everything that's advertised on this board.

you continue to make the words

but you do not include examples to support the words

Your words dangle freely, like a disappointingly limp cock, and are as impotent. Stiffen your cock. Provide examples for the words.

This is like the fourth post that's claimed mech games with better crunch and yet, no source. Burden of proof is on yourself to end the bitching, but here we go again.

For the creativity behind RPGs. If it's all game mechanics, then play a minis game; if you want to do more than just shoot, get shot, shoot again, play a RPG.

While it's true you could just give some background narration to your minis game, I've always found it more fun to be creative with RPG combat to challenge the age old "shoot, get shot, shoot again" combat sequence.

What Mecha Games are you fucking talking about? There aren't that many of them and only one or two that I would consider decent.

>>summon the defense force
It's bad to mindlessly defend something, but easily a dozen times worse to mindlessly attack everything. You say it's bad, you say other games are smarter whether they're more simple or more complex, but you don't say *why*. So, frankly, you may as well not say anything at all.
Until you have an actual argument the only thing anyone can say is that you seem offended at the idea that people enjoy something you don't.

It really depends on the style of mech you want. Aside from using generic rules systems with their mech supports (both GURP and Fate have mecha supplements), you can go for more super stuff with Meckton, or you can go the Heavy Gear/Battle Tech routes.

I really see nothing in this game that does anything better than those, and most of those are ancient.

Which is why I am wary of any game that advertises crunch, rather than narrative. If the setting is not even fledged, I'm backing out.

Ah that old saying - if you don't have anything constructive to say, go on tg and act like a teenage edge lord.

>defense force is up in arms

That's some thin skin you've got there.

Fair enough.

>checked

"Decent" would still be head and shoulders above this game though.

And you should stick to getting to look cool on an anonymous message board.

Fuck all this drama how does this compare to the only other mech game I'm familiar with Battle Century G?

If you're this thin skinned, you're going to have a very hard time once you get to high school.

Fate is an extremely Rules Lite system that isn't all that good.

Mekton is overly complex and the later editions pull out a fuckton of bullshit complete with a Kawaii stat, hammerspace, super jumps and other super robot crazy animu. Not to mention it hasn't been updated since 1994.

Heavy Gear while a good RPG Setting is also a Zombie property and nearly impossible to find players for and also is a rather Niche Mecha setting in general.

Battletech is the only property you listed that is still current and updated. But the RPG rules for Mech Combat aren't anything to write home about.

That's a lot of assumptions there m8, and of course, nobody's ever written a best selling book on their debut, or crossed into a different creative field with any success. You just sound silly.

And, they're still better than this hodge-podge of awkward ideas slapped together into a mess of a system.

>game's bad because it's bad
Enlightening.

>explanations abound
>la la la, I can't hear you

You're really taking this hard. Is this your first time on Veeky Forums?

>>explanations abound
but user, nowhere do you explain what makes the system bad. You just list these other systems and claim they're better. One would almost think you haven't actually read the 200+ page PDF

Your comparing properties that are decades old and have undergone multiple rules revisions, errata and editions to a Homebrew game that's still in it's Alpha testing.

You also highlighted an earlier point in that there are currently a huge dearth of Mech RPG's since currently of that list only Battletech is still active.
HG is dead, GURPS is a zombie, Mekton is kaput..

Proved the point admirably user. If it's garbage, then walk away. You're just sperging at this point.

> Stop liking something I think is rubbish REEEEEEE
Sure, I'm the one with thin skin.I haven't even read the pdf or the comic the bloke wrote, I'm just amused by your screeching.

>need to read past the first ten to realize that this guy has a bad habit of not filtering his ideas more carefully, or really at all

It's almost like you're really desperate to defend a system when no one's even attacking it. They are just saying exactly what it is. It's an amateur system made by someone with immediately apparent limited knowledge of the mecha genre. It's a passion project, and should be evaluated as such.

Saying "published games are better" shouldn't be a dramatic shock to you, unless your expectations for this game are absurdly high.

So you not only admit you only read the first few pages, and now you're also backpedaling to pretend your first comments weren't hypercritical and were comparing it to professional works, an exact contradiction to your statement now that it should be evaluated as a passion project

It seems you're having some difficulties here:
>hodge-podge of awkward ideas slapped together into a mess of a system
That's a conclusion, mate, not an argument. The argument would be the justification for that conclusion. When other people are asking you why you say something is bad the solution isn't to just rephrase that you think it's bad.

So say you for whatever reason were trying to defend the Mummy reboot. If your defense was "it's a cavalcade of elegant ideas worked into a fine movie" nobody would be having it--that's just you saying you liked it in an exceptionally unhelpful way.

what was the other?

You're forgetting mecha carnage by gomi designs. Best mech game out there

That sounds immensely like Titanfall. You think I could use this system to run a game set in the Titanfall universe?

He posted it on the website saying
>If you’re into military sci-fi, Titanfall, Destiny, comic books, the Halo series, BattleTech, or all forms of Giant Robot media, you might love the hell out of it.

Never heard of it and looking it up the only thing I can find is relating to a tabletop wargame. So it's not an RPG and has nothing to do with what any of us are talking about....Or at least trying to talk about given how actual discussion of Lancer seems to be impossible due to trolling.

op here...

...interesting thread while I was gone fellas :^)

You knew goddamn well this would happen if you know anything about where you are

Rightfully speaking, this is a mellow response considering this is blatantly a shill thread. The fact it's a homebrew/indie game is what lays between it and the shrill shrieks of those who see the sinister aspect of viral marketers in every shadow

I understand you're demanding an essay because you don't want any criticism to stick to your perfect passion project, and that's fine. I probably would do the same in an effort to just tire out anyone who would dare state the obvious, support their statement, and then have to defend that statement against lurid escalating demands.

What do you want? An explanation on how the hacking system is such a poorly implemented subsystem that is for some reason crammed into the front of this vehicle? Or, should we really get into the brass tacks about how the whole heating and cooling business is a really shitty attempt at resource control that's simultaneously tedious, derivative, and likewise given undo consideration and attention, especially considering that it doesn't sound like the author even understands why games like Mech Warrior implemented things like that?

Because, I'm sure those are going to be lengthy arguments, and considering how much you want to defend this system, it sounds like you're not going to be convinced of anything.

nice job you read a section now keep going we can get through this together

Who knew that posting the rules to a Mecha RPG game whose creator is requesting feedback from people is 'shilling'.

I'm kind of angry how much this is like a fantasy novel I'm writing.

It's still advertising, even if you're advertising something that's free (especially if we're talking about it being an incomplete first draft).

What makes it feel like a terrible shill is the really transparent attempts to sell the game. It might be because the KSBD crowd had a really bad habit of spamming shill threads for the webcomic in the past, and they really don't know how to use any other language other than "It's awesome!" and "This sounds amazing!" and then get really upset if anyone says "It's shit," or "This sounds terrible."

>it's a "Veeky Forums hates content creators that go on Veeky Forums because Veeky Forums likes the content creators that go on Veeky Forums" episode

what if i'm a madman who wants to specialize in hardsuits/smaller mechs for that elemental feel?

First off, who gives a shit if it's 'advertising' it's relevant to Veeky Forums and it looks somewhat interesting and scratches an Mecha RPG itch.

And secondly, while it's incomplete the rules are good enough to playtest with. It's not unusual to release drafts of rules for players to playtest.

And I think people are defensive because we didn't get 10 posts in when someone declares it to be shit because the guy who makes K6BD made it. Nothing on the actual concept, rules, crunch mechanics, lore or ideas behind it.
Just an idiotic knee jerk reaction followed by constant derailing and vague idiotic criticisms and shitposting from someone who isn't even really contributing anything of substance.

check out the Goblin chassis! I haven't seen it in play test but it felt really fun

>And I think people are defensive because we didn't get 10 posts in when someone declares it to be shit because the guy who makes K6BD made it.

The first few posts were nothing about the system and only about its author, and the OP used it as his major selling point.

You can't go "JUDGE THIS SYSTEM BY IT'S AUTHOR" and then go "HEY, DON'T JUDGE THIS SYSTEM BY IT'S AUTHOR IF YOU DON'T THINK HE'S ACTUALLY A GOOD WRITER."

hey shillanon good to see you

game is totally free by the way and I'm still not sure if you're a troll or not

Well given that when in a Hard Suit you count as a Mech I'd wager it's power armor. Actually now that I think of it, it reminds me of the Skinwalker from Battletech. The one with the Clan Interface Armor that the pilot wears that doubles as a PA(L).
So yeah, just grab a big enough gun that can ping a mech with a few good shots.

Well given that when in a Hard Suit you count as a Mech I'd wager it's power armor. Actually now that I think of it, it reminds me of the Skinwalker from Battletech. The one with the Clan Interface Armor that the pilot wears that doubles as a PA(L).
So yeah, just grab a big enough gun that can ping a mech with a few good shots.
Maybe grab a jetpack too...

Been playin' in Abbadon's DnD game for ~a year now, man's a serious story wizard. I playtested the mech game once and had a great time. Mech customization is really deep without the combat being laborious. And fuck it, it's free. If you don't like it then all you've wasted is time.

And? There was still discussion about the game and what it was about and the OP just briefly mentioned who was making the game.

And even with that in mind it still doesn't excuse the person from derailing the thread with shit.

You know what? You don't have to like Abbadon, or K6BD or even the Lancer game they put up. That's all well and fine.
But there's a difference between not liking the above mentioned and derailing a thread just to swing a massive hateboner about while making the absurd claim about how the thread is 'shilling'
Newsflash, if this thread is shilling what do you call the right different threads directly related to Games Workshop properties and talking about all of the latest models, new codex releases, video games and books?