Mecha: Dawn of War Arc

Over the weekend (as mentioned in the last post) I finally got a chance to continue my Gundam SEED Destiny Gaiden campaign of Mecha. I really have a lot planned for this now and am looking forward to running it more. It will probably have to continue somewhat infrequently since I can only run it on Saturdays and Saturday is the day a lot of random LFR or other D&D events go down. Of course, by planned, I don't mean planned too far ahead. One of the beauties with Mecha is how the story grows organically based on player decision. I tend to just plan a sort of skeleton for the next few episodes, maybe some key events I want to set up and roll from there.

I have a lot of overall ideas for the future. Where the plot goes, however, will depend largely on the player's side of things. My big plan is to ultimately present various sides to the war and allow the PC's the chance to decide where they want to go. This session saw Drax unable to come though his character remained present in the background. Instead, we gained two new characters that hopefully will remain regular so we can get a core squad developed. Here are the new stars in the show:

1) Akito: An "Accidental Hero" who serves on the military base at Armory One as a cook. During the Armory One raid, he was forced to pilot a Zaku Warrior and proved to have expert skill at piloting a mobile suit. Since then, he has been trained formally and continually asked to take part in training orders or to consider undergoing missions. However, he simply wants to continue just being a cook.

2) Rayne: A "Reformed Criminal" who once attempted a major act of theft from one of the large corporations that exist among the PLANTs. After being caught and put in prison, she was released in the aftermath of the Bloody Valentine War in exchange for being a test pilot for the ZAFT military. Repentant about her crime, Rayne saw the military as the chance to have a better life unlike the one that drove her to commit robbery in the first place.

I think 3 episode chunks are turning out to be the best pacing as far as a session. Maybe one more now and again. It does mean some of the longer multi-part battles I want to do like Gundam is known for will be split between sessions at times, but there's nothing wrong with that; dramatic cliffhanger anyone? I'm really looking forward to the next session. Crim's backstory is going to get fleshed out, the PC's will me their and challenge their first major Earth Alliance antagonist and there will likely also be a chance encounter with the Junk Guild. One of my goals with this game is to keep using mecha designs that weren't featured in the SEED Destiny anime. So far I have mostly played with standard fare and a bit of MSV. However, starting with this set of episodes we get some love from the Astray manga and expect more to come in the future.

Incidentally, if you're playing Mecha right then you're using a piece of opening theme music. I figured it would be worth talking about that. My game is currently using "Ignited" by T.M. Revolution (one of my favorite Japanese acts). This is the standard first opening theme used by the anime itself. However, like Gundam SEED does in both seasons, I also plan on changing this after so many episodes. Whether I follow their set path or not is yet to be decided. As far as BGM's for battle, which have been a hit I think, I'm mostly drawing from the OST's for Gundam SEED and Destiny themselves. Anyways, here we go:

Episode 08: Return to Armory One

In the aftermath of the Junius Seven tragedy, ZAFT began providing aid to the damaged Earth. Meanwhile, Chairman Durandal made it clear that ZAFT would not tolerate the terrorists behind this act; making ZAFT's own position in the incident clear. However, this did little to foster good will. Those in the areas struck by debris cried out for justice and seemed enraged towards the PLANTs. Meanwhile, terrorist organizations like the Blue Cosmos began more aggressive campaigns rallying in new followers. Amid all this, the Earth Alliance began to re-arrange its forces seeming to focus on adding more detachments near the moon and space in general.

With the Galileo returned to Armory One, its crew was granted leave for a few days while the ship was repaired and Captain Meyers received their new orders. The base at Armory One was abuzz with activity. Within the base's main mess hall a young cook turned mobile suit pilot named Akito stumbled into work for the day. However, he quickly found himself under fire by the head chef because it seemed he had misplaced the cutlery the night before when he got off his shift. Scrambling, Akito managed to find the lost cutlery and set things right. However, his boss wasn't very pleased. Sighing, he mused about what he could do with the boy. Akito apologized and the chef noted that he'd need to do better in the future as he was being assigned to the Galileo for the dual purpose of being a cook and joining the mobile suit squad.

Akito had been forced, for his own survival, to pilot a Zaku Warrior during the surprise raid on Armory One. His skill with a mobile suit had been exceptional and though he continually claimed to only want to be a cook, he had since been formally trained. Realizing he had no other choice, Akito consented and at least took solace in the fact that he was still going to be a cook most of the time.

As he carried out his final day working at the mess hall, Akito was greeted by a young female pilot. She identified herself as Rayne and mentioned she was being assigned to the Galileo which prompted a surprised Akito to point out that they would be partners then. Initially, Rayne seemed playfully unsure about Akito's cooking skills. However, after trying some soup he had made, she found his cooking to be perfectly wonderful. As Akito's boss came back by to yell at Akito some more, Rayne was sympathetic to Akito's situation. After the chef left, she reassured Akito about his skill noting that the chef was simply a sour person.

Elsewhere, in his personal room among the base, Zak was reviewing the combat data from their clash at Junius Seven. He had been disappointed by Vonder escaping and felt particularly to blame being a member of ZAFT's Special Forces. However, even after hours of studying the battle, he couldn't seem to figure out the advantage that Vonder and the mysterious Seiji, pilot of the Proto-Chaos, had which allowed them to almost seemingly predict their movements.

Meanwhile, in the city proper, Kanji was strolling to go check out his favorite bar on Armory One. It had been a short tour of duty with the Galileo, but much had happened. He wasn't sure what the future would hold. However, he knew that it would spell more fighting. Kanji felt he might not be back to Armory One for awhile, so it was for the best that he visit it before he leaves.

However, along the way, Kanji bumped into someone he did not expect to see. He had crossed paths with Amelia, an old girlfriend from his past even before joining ZAFT's military. Amelia seemed eager to see Kanji and her interest in him, even after all these years, was made clear. However, Kanji promptly denied going out to dinner with her in a cold response. Sighing, Amelia asked if things had changed so much. Kanji nodded and said that he couldn't go back to the life he had before. He then recounted how his family had been very poor and he joined ZAFT's military in hopes of providing for them.

Too much time had passed and both he and Amelia had become different people. Kanji met and fell in love with a woman named Jeane who also served in ZAFT as a ship's operator. She resided in Aprilius-One with their twin daughters Kara and Yumi. Amelia seemed upset and Kanji told her it would be for the best if she moved on and just remembered the time they did have; appreciating it as he does. She seemed upset and thus Kanji urged her to let go of the past. Visually upset, Amelia let Kanji go and feeling a little bad the vet headed on to his favorite bar.

The following day Zak, Kanji and Drax had been assembled at one of the testing facilities on Armory One's base. There they were met by Captain Meyers as well as two new people. Meyers introduced Akito and Rayne stating that they would be joining the Galileo to round out its mobile suit squad. Zak was quick to salute his new allies and the newcomers easily meshed into the group. With this done, Captain Meyers turned the group over to a ZAFT scientist asking them to do their best to follow his directions.

The scientist explained to the group about the notion of Spatial Awareness. This was a unique, and rare, trait discovered in certain people. It was somewhat like what one might consider psychic abilities. ZAFT's military had designed weapon platforms that could be utilized with it and it was common for fellow pilots with Spatial Awareness to sense one another on the battlefield. In an effort to better understand this phenomenon, ZAFT was organizing trails at varying levels. The scientist desired for the Galileo's squad to run through a combat simulation while their brain waves were tested.

As they were transferred to the test site, the pilots couldn't help but overhear the rumors among the lab. The talk was all on the fact war might return. It seemed the Earth was still quite aggressive despite ZAFT's aid relief. Loading into open cockpits rigged to act almost like controllers for the simulation, the pilots were put into a mock combat in space against a squad of Earth Alliance Dagger L's; the current mainstay of their mobile suit forces.

The battle itself was short as the Galileo Team made quick work of the enemies. After the test, the scientist noted that those who flagged any signs they were looking for would be contacted. Dismissed, each pilot went on about their personal business awaiting the time when the Galileo would receive its new assignment. A few days later, both Kanji and Akito received a file from the labs. It seemed both showed up a potential users of Spatial Awareness. The letter included urged both to pay attention if any weird phenomenon happened and added that data on their brain waves would also begin being recorded among the other test data their squad regularly reported back in.

Episode 09: Declaration by Fire

The peaceful days the Galileo crew had enjoyed at Armory One promptly came to an end. The Earth Alliance had finally made their move as a large fleet approached the PLANTs themselves. Their declaration was clear. The Alliance demanded that ZAFT demilitarize and its government disperse. It made such a threat even while it moved forth mysterious new mobile suits. Among these were squads armed with nuclear missiles. Even in the face of such a threat, ZAFT refused such a ridiculous request and once again stressed their position against the use of nuclear arms. However, the Earth Alliance would not back down either. With no options left on either side, war was declared once more.

The Galileo was one among several ships to be launched from Armory One to come in as support during the battle. Knowing this, its crew began to scramble and finish their affairs as they boarded the Galileo and prepared to head out. Akito met with Captain Meyers by request and after giving the cook a tour of the area where he'd be working, when not piloting, he revealed to Akito that he had a special task for him. Captain Meyers explained that ZAFT had an ace in the hole for dealing with the nukes. However, they would need time to set it up and ready things. 

While the Galileo would only be dealing with outlying forces, they needed to help buy time as well. Meyers knew Akito was new, but had heard high remarks on his skill. Thus, he wanted to ask of Akito to take charge in the fight and do his very best to tie up the enemy and keep them from firing on the PLANTs. Akito more than readily accepted this task promising to do all he could. He had cooked for people on the PLANTs before and he would do so again, if he could help it.

Meanwhile, in his private quarters aboard the Galileo, Kanji heard a mysterious knock at the door. Carefully, he listened at the door and heard footsteps vanishing down the hallway. Opening the door, he noted a tray with a glass of what seemed to be water and some food on it. Suspicious about the mysterious gift, Kanji took the tray to Doctor Mareina asking her to check it for poison. Mareina initially seemed skeptical about Kanji's assessment. However, to her surprise, after running some tests the water turned out to be highly poisonous. Triumphantly, Kanji declared that anyone who knew him and called him a friend would know he only drank wine with a meal.

Laughing, Doctor Mareina noted that in this case being a drunkard had saved the old man's life. Still, Kanji seemed more concerned about the fact that this might mean a spy was on board the Galileo. Wanting to be careful about things, Kanji made Doctor Mareina promise not to tell anyone else about what had happened and to confidentially pass on the information from her tests directly to Captain Meyers. Agreeing that this was the best course of action, Mareina carefully filed away the information to be submitted to the Captain later. Worried for the future, Kanji returned to his private quarters.

Before heading to the Galileo, Rayne spent her final day on Armory One going about the city and shopping. Perhaps it was odd for a mobile suit pilot about to go to war, but for Rayne it seemed like a good idea. Who knows when the next time would be when she'd get back to Armory One and could do the same again. Thus, she made the day of things and boarded the Galileo just before its launch time.

Finally, just as the Galileo set out, Zak entered the mobile suit hangar to see how things were going. To his surprise, Chief Burns was going over Zak's Zaku. Excitedly, Burns forced Zak over inspect the mobile suit mentioning that he had managed to upgrade the Gunner Pack's Orthros long rifle giving it a small boost in fire power. Pleased with this upgrade, Zak saluted Chief Burns and thanked him for all his efforts. However, Chief Burns merely stated that it was thanks enough that he got to work on and further customize machines like this serving among an experimental mobile suit squad.

Unfortunately, there was one person missing aboard the Galileo. Takuya, true to his promise to Captain Meyers, opted to stay behind at Armory One. The young boy had officially enrolled into the ZAFT military with the intent of receiving proper training. Via Captain Meyers, the boy had sent well wishes to the rest of the ship hoping that the next time they met, he would be a proper soldier of ZAFT.

As the Galileo pulled into the combat area things looked grim. The battle was an all out skirmish on the scale of the past war. It seemed the nuke-carrying mobile suit squads were targeting Aprilius-One; the seat of the Supreme Council. Kanji could feel his tension rising knowing that his family resided on that colony as well. A quick briefing from Lt. Tsukasa revealed that the enemy unit was dubbed Windam and was apparently a new model so they needed to be careful. The squad's goal was simple. Prevent the nuke squad in their combat zone from firing on the PLANTs. Anything else was secondary to this task. The Galileo would hang back freeing up Lt. Tsukasa who intended to work directly with the Joule Team at another area of the battlefield.

Joining the fray, Drax couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the size of the battle. Akito lamented once more about his situation citing his wish to just be a cook. Kanji, picking up on this, stated that there was no hope for such dreams during war time and then began to muse a little on the seemingly eternal nature of war. Ultimately, he questioned if there would ever be a day when humanity could cast aside such notions and truly evolve into a better existence. Impassioned by Kanji's speech, Zak lead the charge into battle.

Fighting against the Windams, the Galileo Team quickly realized that these new mobile suits were easily a match, if not better, than their Zaku Warriors. However, they wouldn't give up. Remembering his promise to  Captain Meyers, Akito dove into the fray. Shouting loudly, the thrusters of his Zaku Warrior flared to life as he rammed into one of the Windams at top speed knocking it far away before spinning around and drawing his beam assault rifle trailing the shot onto another Windam and destroying it with a single shot.

Zak, meanwhile, found himself pleading with one of the Windam pilots to stand down and was shocked when, in return, the enemy pilot shouted back calling him an alien monster that needed to be purged to preserve the blue planet Earth. Realizing the nigh-fanaticism held by the pilot, Zak felt no mercy as he acted in concert with Rayne to shoot him down.

Kanji gave a stunning effort as well. Knowing that even his family's safety rode on the outcome of this battle, he remained intently focused. When one of the lead Windams of the squad broke rank to attack Drax, Kanji flew into action. Charging in his beam axe tore into the Windam severing one arm. Then, wasting no time at all, he began firing the Slash Pack's beam gatling peppering the unit with shots before finally tearing off the remaining arm and smashing it into the head of the mobile suit sending it flying away before it exploded into nothingness.

Eventually, working together, Akito and Kanji managed to route the nuke carrying Windams among this squad. With them cornered and having no other options, Akito demanded that they retreat from the battlefield or die there with them; if that's what it took. Accepting defeat, the squad leader ordered a retreat and as the Windams carrying nuclear missiles began to pull out Akito lowered his beam axe. The enemy's squad leader hailed the young cook stating that he was too naive to be a soldier on a battlefield. However, luckily for Akito, his foe this time was a man of honor. They had bested his squad and he would pull back.

With the Galileo successful in their endeavor, as the pilots returned to the hangar, all eyes turned towards the rest of the battle. Though several nukes were fired, they were stopped immediately by a powerful blast from a modified Nazca-Class ship. This ship had been outfitted with experimental technology derived off the N Jammer which ZAFT originally employed to disable nuclear warfare. This weapon was dubbed the N Stampeder. With every nuke detonated well before reaching the PLANTs, the Alliance's threat was over. Unfortunately, the N Stampeder had fried itself in use. However, it seemed that for now it had deterred any nuclear threats for the PLANTs.

Though the Galileo celebrated a small victory, they knew things were far from over. War had been declared. Captain Meyers received new orders from Armory One. The Galileo Team, minus Lt. Tsukasa, were to be dropped to Earth to join an operation by ground forces. ZAFT intended to make a decidedly strong push and force the Alliance out of space while also taking over major Alliance bases on the planet itself; thus disabling their ability to bolster space forces.

Thus, the Galileo began making its way towards Earth.

Episode 10: Operation Victoria Part I

As the Galileo made its way to Earth, the mobile suit squad was busy making final preparations before their descent to Earth. Akito was called to met Lt. Tsukasa in the mobile suit hangar. There Hiro had a stern discussion with Akito. Lt. Tsukasa hated to be the bearer of bad news, but as it would turn out a tragedy occurred amid the fight at the PLANTs. Akito's parents had been in a transport moving between two colonies just as the battle broke out. In the immediate chaos of battle, their transport had been hit directly by stray fire from one of the Alliance Windams.

Crushed, Akito could say little in response to Lt. Tsukasa. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Hiro stated that he was sorry for his loss and promised that they'd get revenge for them one day. Akito mumbled that he felt so bad he didn't even feel like cooking. Wanting to be left alone, Lt. Tsukasa departed while Akito returned to his room. This was why he only wanted to be a cook. Cooking brought smiles to people. Piloting mobile suits ultimately brought only one thing: death.

As their discussion had went on, both Rayne and Zak had been present in the hangar working on servicing their machines. Rayne, unfortunately, met Chief Jacob Burns head on as he noticed that she was connecting several cables incorrectly. Quickly, her fiery temper forced her into a rather loud argument with Burns as he went behind her correcting all the mistakes. Angered, he told her that mobile suits were precious and needed to be handled with care. However, Rayne could only scoff at his obsessive attitude.

Later, a still angered Burns found Zak working on some repairs to his Zaku Warrior as well. Again, Chief Burns couldn't help but be impressed by the level of skill ZAFT Special Forces held. Jokingly, he urged Zak to take good care of his machine while on Earth and bring it back to the Galileo in one piece. Laughing, Zak agreed to do his best. Following this, Chief Burns went on to see how Drax was doing and to continue tutoring him. Having taken a liking to the boy's enthusiasm, he seemed a little sad Drax would be leaving them. He encouraged the boy to practice hard while on Earth.

Meanwhile, Kanji met with Captain Meyers to have a final drink before their departure. They spoke of the war and how senseless it seemed after the resolution of the previous. Though so much had changed, it seemed that in the end little actually did. Kanji related his worries in the previous battle for his family and Captain Meyers assured him that while Kanji was on Earth, he would do his best to look out for his family as well.

Before parting ways, Captain Meyers urged Kanji to watch out for the others remarking on how green most of them were. Kanji lamented that so many young people were forced to fight wars which they held little responsibility for. Captain Meyers then presented Kanji with a particularly rare vintage of wine. He informed Kanji to return to the Galileo with two drinks left for them to share in celebration of everyone's reunion. Kanji thanked Captain Meyers for the gesture and promised that he would get everyone back to the Galileo.

With the time for their departure now facing them Kanji, Drax, Rayne and Akito gathered with Lt. Tsukasa and Captain Meyers on the mobile suit deck. Zak was delayed, however, as a seemingly upset Romary surprised him. Forcing up a cheerful smile, Romary remarked that she had never been on Earth before and Zak stated that he hadn't either. Romary then asked if Zak would take her some photos of Earth during their downtime to share with her when they met again. Taking on a serious tone, Zak warned Romary that this was now war; things were serious. There wouldn't be time for personal interests amid such chaos.

This forced Romary to begin tearing up. She threw herself against Zak as she began to cry. Between sobs, she stated that he had to agree because if he did then it was a promise that he'd return to her alive. Realizing what she had been implying and that, perhaps, he had been a bit to formal about things Zak did his best to console Romary. He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep, but Zak swore to do all he could to pull through and return. Reassured by his words, Romary hugged Zak farewell before returning to the bridge of the ship.

As Zak joined the rest of the Galileo Team, Captain Meyers began briefing them on their first true mission of the war. The pilots were being sent down to Australia on Earth. They were being dropped on the outskirts of the Great Victoria Desert. Currently a battle was already under way as Alliance forces were raiding one of ZAFT's newly established camps. Things were going bad and they needed reinforcements. It would be their goal to help push back the Alliance and then link up with the ground commander in that area. This mission had been dubbed Operation Victoria. The overall goal was to make a push against the Alliance forces and ultimately take over their major base there. Lt. Tsukasa would remain with the Galileo which would return to the PLANTs and be on reserve duty until its pilots returned to space.

Heartfelt farewells were given and Lt. Tsukasa urged the pilots to do their best while on Earth; adding that he'd work just as hard in space. With their mobile suits loaded into an atmospheric re-entry drop pod, the Galileo Team was finally ready to depart. The descent to Earth was a rocky ride and as their drop pod crashed into the ground, their first sight was marvelous as they saw the full extent of the Earth. This was a sight brand new for everyone present besides Kanji who had seen it in the previous war.

However, the team had little time to marvel at Earth's seemingly endless sky as beams began to fire all around them. True to the briefing, they really had been dropped into a war zone. A static-y voice blared over the comms to them from what sounded to be ZAFT's commander for this area. He claimed to be pleased to have an experimental squad as reinforcements and quickly briefed them on the situation. The short of it was that they were about to lose their base of operations. The Galileo Team was to rally with the remaining ZAFT forces and try to push them back.

As they entered the combat proper, the Galileo Team quickly saw just exactly what was giving ZAFT so much trouble. Amid the various Windams and Dagger L's flying about, in the center of it all was a Gundam. Kanji quickly identified it in his computer as Hyperion Gundam; a powerful mobile suit designed by the Eurasian Federation and that had multiple units produced. Angered, Zak hailed the Hyperion demanding its pilot retreat. To his surprise, his declaration was met with wild, but familiar, laughter.

Kanji, Drax and Zak quickly recognized the voice: it was Crim. As Zak pulled in close, Crim opened the hatch to the Hyperion Gundam and stepped forth removing his pilot's helmet to reveal the brutal scar Zak had left upon his face. Returning to his cockpit, Crim remarked that he never believed he would see his old friends from the Galileo so soon. Kanji questioned why he was here and Crim stated that it wasn't that complicated. His contract with Albus Vonder ended at Junius Seven. Mercenaries like him always needed more work. Since the Junius Seven incident created a need for the Alliance to bolster their forces, it was easy enough to get hired on with them.

Disgusted at his idealism of profitting from war, Zak challenged Crim to a duel. A challenge the mercenary was all too eager to accept stating that he would gladly pay Zak back in kind for their last encounter. While these two pilots clashed alone, Kanji led the others in fending off the Alliance mobile suits. With the added numbers of the Galileo Team, the ZAFT forces were able to turn the tide of the battle. Drax found it hard to adjust to fighting under gravity, but quickly got a handle on things and began fighting once more at full potential.

The duel between Zak and Crim was intense. Neither pilot would accept defeat and each used all their skills possible. As Crim stabbed one of the Hyperion's beam knives into Zak's Zaku, it pierced through the cockpit stopping short of Zak's own body. the heat of the beam knife burned his face slightly. Crim then kicked the mobile suit back. Realizing he was at a disadvantage at close range, Zak took advantage of this and pulled away drawing his Orthros long rifle to fire a powerful blast in hopes of taking Crim out. However, a mysterious yellow light surrounded Hyperion Gundam blocking the long rifle fire. Crim gloated that the Hyperion's Armure Lumiere system was the ultimate defense and, with it, he couldn't be defeated. As their duel continued, Crim swore at Zak playfully begging him to stand still so he could go ahead and kill him.

However, while distracted by Zak, Crim was unable to notice the rest of the battlefield. Slowly, the others had picked off all the Alliance mobile suits. Despite having Armure Lumiere at his disposal, Crim understood when he was outnumbered. With no support left, Crim retreated from the battlefield swearing that he would settle the score with Zak next time. The base camp broke into cheers and celebration hailing the Galileo Team for turning the tide of the battle.

After storing their mobile suits with the others, the Galileo Team was greeted by a rather odd man. He had short black hair, seemed to be quite young and wore his officer's jacket over his back much like a cape. He introduced himself as Eiji Isahara, the Commander for ZAFT's Australian Theater. He quickly offended most of the Galileo's pilots with his seemingly casual style and insensitive remarks. Rayne was quickly angered by him, but when she stated her dislike this only prompted a friendly laugh from Eiji. He offered the group to join him for some coffee, but everyone declined feeling there were more important things to be done right now.

Laughing more, Eiji assured them that there would be time for business as well. He urged them to slow down a little and suggested that they'd just have to adjust to things as Eiji liked to move at his own pace and they did things differently on Earth. While Eiji departed, the Galileo Team couldn't help but wonder if this was truly their new commander or not and if he actually had a plan towards victory. Tired from their battle, the Galileo Team was ready for a well deserved rest. Operation Victoria had only just begun...

Mecha: Junius Seven Arc

This was a long time coming. The session these episodes took place in was played probably a month or maybe even two months ago. I just couldn't find the time or drive to write them up. Which was sad because I really love Chris Perrin's Mecha and anime roleplaying in general. I really don't have a lot to comment on this. I loved how things developed (and are developing, just ran another session over the weekend) and it really started to feel like I was watching Gundam with the new developments.

Dramatic things have happened that are making a clear impact on the story's world as well as on the PC's. Likewise, enemy rivalries are starting to crop up. Crim, the PC turned antagonist, really shined with the new role I gave him. If I have my way, he'll be a continued nuisance on the party challenging them both on the battlefield and ideologically.

We did have a funny turn of events over these sessions. I forgot about the Stability Roll, was still pretty new to actually running it at the table then, and we ended up with what we've later come to call as the Gritty Hack for Mecha. Essentially, you ignore the Stability Roll in the equation. So if your mecha gets hit, then you opt to pull back or disable a configuration. Essentially, it boils down to you only ever being able to take 2 hits and then the third spells death. Though it was just a comical, in retrospect, gaff on my part, the more I thought over this the more I realized that it could actually be viable for some genre of mecha. I could see it working very well for some of the works of Ryosuke Takahashi like Armored Trooper VOTOMS. In any case, on with the show:

Episode 04: Romary's Tears

Things remained tense aboard the Galileo. While the bridge crew scrambled to devise a plan of rescue for Operator Romary Regal, the mobile suit squad assisted the mechanic team in unloading the rest of the supplies. This brought with it a collection of Wizard Packs which they quickly adopted to their units. Zak decided to utilize the Gunner Pack since he already held sniper training. Accustomed to working at high speed and enjoying the use of bombardment, Drax used the Blaze Pack on his Zaku Warrior. Finally, Kanji adopted the Slash Pack having long developed a preference for close range combat. More importantly, the transport ship had also brought various technologies for the crew to experiment with. Aware of its potential benefits, Kanji had his Zaku Warrior outfitted with a Mirage Colloid unit.

Romary's safety remained a heavy weight on everyone, however. Zak met with Lt. Tsukasa to review footage of the previous battle. While studying things, Zak was unable to make much of their tactics. Lt. Tsukasa began discussing how much more advanced these pilots seemed compared to their initial battles. However, Zak politely excused himself from providing input as he had not taken part in those sorties and didn't feel fit to give a proper assessment of the situation.

Meanwhile, Kanji was off studying maps of the asteroid field. Coordinating those along with the footage of the last battle, he was able to realize that the enemy continued to use a set path in and out of the field. Knowing this would clearly give them an advantage in future battles; particularly if they were to attempt a rescue of Romary. Pleased with his discovery, Kanji cracked open a bottle of wine.

Elsewhere, Drax was working on the various checks of his Zaku Warrior now that it had been outfitted with the Blaze Pack. While doing so he met the rather fiery Chief Mechanic of the Galileo: Jacob Burns. Chief Burns began shouting at Drax asking what in the hell he thought he was doing. Quickly, Burns pointed out an error in the connections for the Blaze Pack's "Firebee" guided missiles. Intially, Drax argued back confident in his own experience. However, in the end, after double checking Drax realized that Burns had been correct. Just as a call went in for the pilots to gather at the briefing room, Burns informed Drax that he would try to fix things but that he didn't know if there would be time.

The pilots quickly assembled in the briefing room. There Captain Meyers and Lt. Tsukasa intended to discuss possible plans of action that might be taken to recover Romary. During the meeting, Kanji revealed his observations of the asteroid field giving the group an edge with planning. Mid-discussion, however, the Galileo was hailed by the enemy Nazca-Class. Accepting the video feed, the group came face to face with Crim who boisterously engaged his former comrades. He noted that they had been fun to work with, but he had simply been given a better offer. Despite his eagerness to joke, Zak cut to the point demanding to know about Romary.

Laughing, Crim explained that she was fine aboard their ship. However, if the Galileo refused to cooperate then he couldn't guarantee her safety. He went on to add that the girl had been foolish to take an interest in him and place her trust so easily. Frustrated, Captain Meyers asked for the enemy's terms. Crim was more than eager to explain. They wanted an exchange of prisoners. Romary in return for the soldiers that the Galileo had captured in one of their recent skirmishes. Lt. Tsukasa noted to the pilots that thus far they had still been unable to get any of them to crack and spill vital information.

Warning the Galileo to think carefully, Crim stated that they would have fifteen minutes to issue a response. If they failed to agree to the terms after that time, then things might look grim for Romary. With communication ending, the pilot squad flew into a fit of anger and frustration. Even Lt. Tsukasa voiced concerns and disgust at Crim's tactics. It was at this point that Kanji brought up his research of the asteroid field. Noting on the map the area he thought the enemy had been using to easily move around, Captain Meyers commended the veteran on his skill. Lt. Tsukasa was pleased as well and realized that with this, they could potentially mount a rescue mission.

The plan would be simple. Lt. Tsukasa would stay behind in his Zaku Phantom and oversee a mock release of the captives. Meanwhile, the mobile suit team would sneak around the far edge, hopefully undetected, and launch a surprise raid on the enemy's main Nazca-Class ship. Whenever someone had the chance, they'd have to board the ship, find Romary and escape. It was risky, but Kanji was quick to point out that based on past actions they had no guarantee that Crim would keep his word anyways.

Ready with a plan, Captain Meyers contacted Crim to issue their agreement while the mobile suit team prepared to launch. Things went smoothly and with Kanji leading the team, they were able to easily sneak up on the enemy's Nazca-Class ship. With the feint plan in full swing Kanji, Drax and Zak launched their surprise attack. Opposed only by a handful of GINN, things seemed easy enough. However, Crim soon joined the battle in his stolen Zaku Warrior. The fighting was fierce, but the Galileo's squad held on. As Crim continually taunted them, Zak flew into a rage demanding for Romary's return. With a carefully aimed slash of his beam tomahawk, Zak managed to cut slightly into the cockpit of Crim's mobile suit. With a hideous scream, Crim cried out in pain. Inside the cockpit, his face had been cut bad from the attack; blood was slowly filling the helmet of his pilot's suit. Forced to retreat, Crim pulled away leaving the other GINN's to face defeat.

Zooming into the Nazca-Class' hangar, Zak discovered Romary safe and sound; but bound and gagged. Untying her, Zak confirmed that she was okay as she flung herself against him hugging for dear life while tears streamed down he face. Zak returned with Romary to his Zaku and together they flew back to rejoin the squad so they might head back to the Galileo. Meanwhile, with Romary's safety confirmed, the feint plan was revealed and Lt. Tsukasa managed to repel the GINN's that had come to pick up their allies all on his own.

With Romary saved, the Galileo celebrated a small victory in their ongoing skirmishes against their unknown foe. Though shaken, Romary would be fine. She remarked to Zak that he was truly a hero. Modest as ever, Zak merely said that it was thanks to his Special Forces training. The enemy Nazca-Class pulled away from the asteroid field and, following their mission, the Galileo continued its pursuit.

Episode 05: Mastermind

Things returned to normal on the Galileo. Though still in the middle of a dangerous mission, it seemed with the return of Romary the crew of the ship resumed being in high spirits. Unfortunately, Takuya did not share this sentiment. Meeting with Lt. Tsukasa and Captain Meyers, Takuya was ready to give them his own decision about being a mobile suit pilot. Despite having potential, in Lt. Tsukasa's own words, Takuya didn't feel fit for others to place their lives in his hands. Still, he wanted to prevent such senseless deaths like what happened to his parents. Takuya wouldn't fight with the Galileo in this current mission. When the chance came, he desired to return to the PLANTs to undergo formal military training. Lt. Tsukasa was disheartened with this decision, but Captain Meyers was resolute in honoring it.

Elsewhere, Zak went to visit Romary Regal and see how she had been since being rescued. Romary was very cheerful to see Zak and quickly took a break from running the comms to speak with him for a bit. She noted that Doctor Mareina had given her a clean bill of health. Zak enjoyed Romary's company and eventually decided it was time for him to let her get back to her duties. However, Romary quickly volunteered a bit of information. She explained that, while captured with Crim, he had met with the apparent leader of the terrorists. Romary described him as being a bit older, around Kanji's age if she had to guess, and that Crim referred to him as Vonder. Zak mulled over the name in his mind, but couldn't draw any significance from it.

Meanwhile, in the mobile suit hangar, both Kanji and Drax were working on repairing their Zaku's. Drax continued to sneak about gathering the parts he needed to work while trying to avoid Chief Burns; fearing he might yell at him more or further show him up on mechanical skills. Luckily, Drax had a rather easy time as Chief Burns took note of Zak servicing his own MS and went to speak to him. Chief Burns was impressed with Zak's skill and complimented the pilot both on his own prowess and on the level of training enforced by ZAFT's Special Forces. Zak commented that behind enemy lines, pilots would've have the luxury to have mechanics present to service their mobile suits; thus even pilots needed such skills. Pleased, Chief Burns shared a good laugh with Zak before returning to his duties.

However, it was long after that the mobile suit team was called to the briefing room. There the trio were met once more by Lt. Tsukasa and Captain Meyers. With a grim and determined look on his face, Captain Meyers announced that the interrogation of their captives had finally brought forth some information. The leader of the terrorist organization was a man named Albus Vonder. Zak noted that this had been the name Romary overheard while captured by Crim. More importantly, however, Kanji recognized the name and knew exactly who this person was.

Kanji began to tell what he knew of Albus Vonder to the group. Vonder was a vet of the Bloody Valentine War much like Kanji himself. However, Vonder had come out of the war in a far different situation than he had. Losing his wife and all his kids in the attack on Junius Seven, Vonder became a man obsessed with revenge. He was brutal on the battlefield and though an expert pilot, was known for his unusual cruelty to the enemy. When the previous Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala began acting out in extreme, Vonder was a hardcore supporter.

To the very end he fought for Zala's idealism that the Coordinators of ZAFT had become superior beings to those on Earth. Even during the battle of Yachin Due, as ZAFT forces began deserting in support of the Orb forces trying to rally peace and an end to the use of massive weapons of destruction, Vonder fought to the bitter end only surrendering when there was no other choice.

Kanji, who had joined the Orb forces to stop the widespread destruction, never saw much of Vonder in the aftermath. While so many, including Kanji, had been eager to lay down their guns and return to their family, Albus Vonder could not stop fighting. Instead, he transferred into a squad tasked with handling terrorist attacks and mopping up remnants of either side of the war who refused to accept the peace treaty; it was a means to still fight. In the years that followed, as he returned to his family, Kanji never heard again of Vonder and assumed him either dead or still fighting for ZAFT.

Lt. Tsukasa stressed that everyone understand Kanji's story. The man they were dealing with was a veteran of the last war and both a dangerous and expert enemy. Captain Meyers suggested the men working for him must also be pilots that supported Zala's ideology along with  mercenaries hired for additional support like Crim. However, unfortunately, this was not the only revelation the Galileo had learned. Captain Meyers took over now briefing the pilots on the current situation.

Vonder's ship, which they had been tailing for days now, was on a direct course towards the remains of Junius Seven. Its goal, as learned from the captives, was to link up with several other hardline Zala-supporting factions and initiate a plan to drop Junius Seven from orbit; crashing the colony ruins into the Earth itself. Shocked, the pilots were determined to avoid such a tragedy. Kanji, filled with sadness, remarked that such an action would surely instigate another war.

Thus, the squad's goal was clear. They needed to stop Vonder's Nazca-Class from its rendezvous. Regardless of their success or failure, they would then be heading to Junius Seven itself to try and prevent their operation from succeeded. Wasting no time, the Galileo advanced into combat speed while the pilots headed for the mobile suit deck. They would make their stand now, just before reaching Junius Seven.

As Drax, Kanji and Zak rushed ahead into battle, Lt. Tsukasa took up his usual position of defending the Galileo itself. They were stretched thin on resources and losing the ship now would mean complete failure. From the enemy Nazca-Class several GINN's, Crim's Zaku and the GINN High Mobility Type II emerged. The pilot of the Type II hailed the Galileo's squad revealing himself to be Albus Vonder presuming that, by now, the Galileo had to at least be aware of who their adversary was. Zak and Drax made it clear they were determined to stop Vonder's ambitions.

Kanji, however, hailed Vonder directly questioning why he would go against his sense of duty as a soldier and act against ZAFT. Vonder ranted on about how, under the lead of Chairman Durandal, ZAFT had become weak. Vonder reasoned that, given time, the Coordinators would eventually become complacent lapdogs towards the Earth and lose all sense of the advancements they had achieved. Kanji, however, couldn't accept such ideology that would promote war further. Vonder remained resolute in his actions, telling Kanji that they would simply have to see whose will proved the strongest.

While Kanji and Vonder faced off, Drax and Zak had their hands full dealing with Crim. The mercenary, deranged with a battle-lust proved quite troublesome. Ultimately, in a high speed ram attack, Crim's Zaku managed to cave in the chest area of Drax's mobile suit. This forced the cockpit consoles to shatter and tear in resulting in Drax himself becoming injured as ragged metal cut deep into his left leg. Realizing that Drax was hurt, Zak took it upon himself to try and end the battle as he launched an attack on the Nazca-Class itself ultimately managing to disable its engines.

However, to the Galileo's surprise, the enemy Nazca-Class suddenly exploded. From the chaos, the Proto-Chaos emerged as the cause of this sacrifice. Using this confusion, the Proto-Chaos, Vonder, Crim and their surviving subordinates flew on making their way the short distance to Junius Seven in their mobile suits alone. Zak helped Drax pilot his Zaku back to the Galileo and Lt. Tsukasa let his frustration at the enemy's escape show as he tossed his helmet across the mobile suit hangar. As the Galileo pulled closer to Junius Seven, the signs of battle were already visible. To their surprise, the crew noticed that the Minerva was present as well as the mysterious ship that had stolen the experimental Gundams. It seemed everything would now come to a head at Junius Seven.

Episode 06: Assault

There was little time for personal  affairs as the Galileo's mobile suit squad found their Zaku's in poor shape after the encounter with Albus Vonder. Kanji, Zak and Drax all tended to their mobile suits while Chief Burns made a mad scramble to oversee widespread repairs. Amid this, Takuya had come out from hiding in his room to help with what he could in the hangar. While he wouldn't fight now, he could still support the Galileo in this way. Drax, feeling in intense pain from his injury, took a backseat to Chief Burns and let him take over repairs while studying his actions. Despite his seemingly aggressive attitude, it was clear that Jacob Burns loved mobile suits as much as Drax did; a reassuring thought.

Meanwhile, Kanji found himself wrapped in an argument with Chief Burns as the head mechanic discovered Kanji working on his Zaku while having a glass of wine. Burns flew into a rant about both how mobile suits were expensive pieces of equipment as well as something sacred that needed to be handled seriously. Kanji paid little mind and continued getting in a drink while he could.

Finally, Chief Burns checked in with Zak to find that the Special Forces member had already gotten his Zaku up to shape. Once more, Burns complimented Zak on his training and discipline suggesting he ought to rub off some of his mannerisms on Drax. Laughing, Zak remained modest and merely returned to his duties knowing that battle would soon be occurring.

As the Galileo pulled into the wreckage of Junius Seven that orbited the Earth, the pilots gathered with Captain Meyers in the briefing room. There, they were me via video feed by Yzak Joule. A hero of the previous war who had joined the fighting as only a teenager. Now, he was a high ranking member of ZAFT's military. The Joule Team had come to try and stop the terrorists and was currently acting in concert with the Minerva for this task. However, the enemy forces seemed to be composed of several smaller terrorist cells linked up for this one goal. Thus, the task was beyond the Joule Team's capacity to handle.

Yzak thus issued orders for the Galileo. At the far edge of the current battlefield, some of the enemy seemed to be rigging bombs that, when detonated, would propel large chunks of the wreckage on a suicide charge into the Earth's atmosphere. While the Minerva and Joule Team tried to get a handle on the main force, the Galileo would disarm these ensuring all aspects of the situation were covered. Captain Meyers readily accepted this task and the Galileo's squad moved to launch.

Fighting among the wreckage of Junius Seven was a new experience for both Drax and Zak. Kanji, however, found the area all too familiar and lamented on the lives that had been lost there. Lt. Tsukasa remained with the Galileo defending it from stray attacks amid the chaos of a full scale battle. Engaging a squad of GINN's, Drax and Zak worked to fend them off while Kanji got close to disarm the bomb. However, Drax found himself struggling in battle unable to pilot well due to the intense pain coming from his leg. Zak noted to Kanji that something would need to be done about that soon, whether they had the time to spare or not, and did his best to cover the young MS-obsessed boy so he'd survive the fight.

Ultimately, Kanji managed to disarm several of the bombs by making use of the Mirage Colloid unit equipped on his Zaku to sneak by the battle undetected and invisible to normal sight.. With one remaining, that appeared to be more heavily guarded, Captain Meyers ordered the mobile suit squad to return and received a re-supply before heading for the final objective. Kanji couldn't be sure, but his gut told him that Albus Vonder was awaiting them at the last bomb.

Episode 07: The Day The Angel Fell

With only moments to spare, the Galileo's mobile suit squad docked and Chief Burns' team began to go to work. Zak was summoned to meet with Captain Meyers while Kanji forced Drax to come with him to the medical bay. There, Kanji and Drax met Doctor Mareina who oversaw the medical bay aboard the Galileo. Her long dark hair and glasses made her seem an ill fit for a warship, but she quickly made her expertise known to the duo as she identified Drax's injury. Realizing Kanji had considerable battlefield experience, Doctor Mareina had him assist her in treating Drax so the work could get done faster.

Though treatment was painful for Drax, Kanji and Doctor Mareina managed to not only treat the mechanic's wounds, but also patch it up enough that it shouldn't be a bother any more in combat. Mareina noted that with time it should heal up just fine. Drax thanked the doctor, referring to her as his savior. Kanji and Drax then rushed back to the mobile suit hangar. There, Drax found Chief Burns repairing his Zaku and after observing him a bit, asked if Burns would mentor him. Chief Burns broke out into raucous laughter and noted that he was glad the boy had come around. Working together, Chief Burns taught Drax a thing or two as they repaired his mobile suit.

Meanwhile, Zak had been conferring with Captain Meyers about the mission. They had studied the final bomb and it seemed to have been modified as a deterrent against ZAFT's attempts to prevent their terrorist attack. Meyers noted that it seemed the only proper way to disarm it would be for somebody to use the main console on foot. Captain Meyers admitted that this would be a hard task to do amid an intense fire-fight, however, it had to be done. Meyers wanted to place this task in Zak's hands knowing he was a member of ZAFT's Special Forces. Though nervous, Zak agreed to the task realizing how important it was. Captain Meyers wished the young pilot luck and sent him on the way. As he raced for his mobile suit, Zak bumped into Romary who cheerfully wished him luck giving him some much needed encouragement.

Without wasting any more time, the mobile suit team was launched once more as the battle at Junius Seven raged on. Approaching the final bomb Zak, Kanji and Drax realized they were facing tough resistance. Only three mobile suits surrounded their target. However, these three were Vonder's GINN High Mobility Type II, Crim's Zaku Warrior and the stolen Proto-Chaos. Knowing how tough this would be, Kanji assured Zak to just focus on the bomb and that he would do his best to draw two of the units; if Drax could tie up the remaining one.

Crim, now with a wicked looking scar that ran diagonally across his face, was eager to pay Zak back for the injury. However, Kanji was quick to engage Crim and at the same time taunted Vonder into attacking as well. Against the two, Kanji was quickly overwhelmed and pushed his skills to the limit just to avoid being killed. Elsewhere, Zak landed near the bomb and exited out on foot to begin disarming it.

Meanwhile, Drax was left to face the Proto-Chaos alone. He was shocked to find that it had the use of remote weapons and, making use of these, quickly forced Drax into the defensive. Darting around the battlefield, Drax tried to stay one step ahead of the almost web-like pattern of beams the Proto-Chaos continued to fire. Eventually, the Proto-Chaos' pilot revealed himself to Drax identifying his name as Seiji. On board the Galileo, Takuya recognized the voice and name; it had been the boy he met while on the transport with his parents. Realizing that Seiji had been the one that killed his parents, essentially, the boy fell into a deep depression.

With time, Crim and Vonder began to overwhelm Kanji destroying both an arm and a leg of his Zaku Warrior. Just as things began to look grim, Zak managed to disarm the bomb and rejoin the fight helping to push back both enemies. Noting that their plan had been stopped, Kanji urged Vonder to surrender and face justice for his crimes against ZAFT. However, Vonder taunted Kanji and remarked that while they had succeeded in stopping him, it seemed his compatriots had found victory. Pausing their battle, the Galileo's pilots noticed that, at one of the other areas of the battle, a segment of Junius Seven was starting to pass into the Earth's atmosphere.

In a last ditch attempt to stop this, the Minerva utilized its Tannhauser cannon to destroy the large debris falling towards Earth. However, this was not enough. Hundreds of small pieces descended towards Earth and destroyed cities while causing heavy damage and numerous casualties. Gloating of their victory, Vonder and his two subordinates escaped the battlefield. The Galileo's mobile suit team returned to their ship. Lt. Tsukasa seemed particular frustrated that despite all their efforts, the terrorists had still succeeded. Kanji seemed particularly concerned realizing how the Earth Alliance might interpret the results of this tragedy. Worse yet, there were now no signs on tracking Albus Vonder and the Proto-Chaos further.

Regardless, new orders had come in to the Galileo. In light of these new developments, they were to return to Armory One so they could be re-supplied and given new orders. While there, the pilots of the Galileo were also to undergo some special testing to help further some research. With heavy hearts and an air of uncertainty about the future, the Galileo began its return trip to Armory One.

Mecha: Introductory Arc

It's been awhile since an update. Long story short, things got busy. I am back in full swing with the fall semester for grad school and have been spending a lot of time focusing on some RPG related projects. Things might get a lot slower on here, but I still want to keep sharing my passion for roleplaying games. At worst, there will just be my weekly summaries for Encounters (new season starts this week, very excited). The store campaign of DCC has become a bit derailed. I had scheduled "People of the Pit" to run a few weeks ago, but a super low turn-out caused it to be delayed. I'll be trying to get back around to it sometime in September.

In any case, I ran a demo of Mecha two weekends ago at the FLGS because I knew a lot of our regulars either had other obligations or were at Gen-Con. I used the same scenario that I had developed for the short-lived play by post game I tried (expanded to some degree since then with more named NPC's). It's a Gaiden (side story) to the anime Gundam SEED Destiny. Anyone reading this that's familiar with the Gundam franchise might balk at that because Destiny was never well received. Call me some crazy super fan, but I tend to enjoy and find the good in every iteration of Gundam. I thought Destiny would be a fun setting to place a side-story in, however, because it has a wealth of MSV that come from model kits or various magazines/books. So I decided to place focus on mecha used there with a story that runs parallel to the actual anime moving away from its plot and focus.

It got started much later than planned so they only had time to get through two full episodes (further than the forum game got) after character creation and going over rules. I had three players:

1) Drax: A "Gearhead" who was a cadet in training that loved to tinker with mobile suits. His goal was to learn more about Gundams and eventually design his own.

2) Crim: A "Reformed Criminal" who had been arrested in one of the PLANTs for trying to rob an armored car. He claimed this was just to pay for expensive operations for his sick sister. Has been put into a special leave program where he acts as a MS Pilot in exchange for earning time off his sentence. He hopes to prove he's "changed his ways."

3) Takuya: An "Accidental Hero" who lives life peacefully as a high school student with little cares or worry about the war that has transpired or the potential for another. His parents are both important scientists working on the development of the "New Millennium" Initiative's Gundams. (To cater to the Archetype picked, I actually started this player not folded into the party at the start)

The previous weekend, I had the pleasure of playing in a demo of the game Obsidian: The Age of Judgement. It was interesting, reminded me a lot of the game series Fallout though with a more supernatural bent in focus. Afterwards, the three players for Mecha were present and I happened to have the material with me. So we had the one new person present create a character and join in to try it out as well. Crim's player wanted to make someone else (after the events of Episode 2, which you'll see below). I allowed him to do so in exchange for turning Crim over as a GM NPC. The two new characters appearing in Episode 3 are:

4) Zak: A "Spec Ops Commando" who is a member of the ZAFT Special Forces ready to seek honor among the battlefield, hoping to one day face off against another skilled pilot in a one on one duel.

5) Kanji: A "Jaded Veteran" who is an older ace mobile suit pilot who held an impressive record from the previous war. However, the horrors of war weighed heavily on this gruff old pilot's heart and he had taken to drinking quite frequently.

All in all I had a fun time at both sessions. Everyone loved the use of music in the game. Playing an opening before each episode as time to decide on your Character Scenes and having BGM themes for combat really got a great reception. We all got to going over Crim's use of the Assassin Configuration in the second battle to the point we couldn't stop laughing about it (and the player earned an Advancement Point for it).

I went a bit over the top narrating it, but it was funny despite being counter-productive to his concept. I also got cracked up by the pseudo-potential romance between Crim and Romary that had been running like a train wreck through Episode 1 and 2 and solely spawned by the roll of the dice. In Episode 3, with the exchange of Crim into a story NPC, this plotline took a much darker turn.

On the mechanics side, I was pretty impressed. Once you get the rules down the game plays incredibly fast. We never had any Cutscenes at either session, but Drax's player was wracking up the Overdrive through great successes. My only real slip up was that in the first session the GINN's were way too weak for the party. I bumped them up some in Episode 2, but it still wasn't there. Episode 3 was meant to be a very tough "boss fight" level ordeal and I was able to bring the pain. With the enemy now having three major antagonists (their leader, the Proto-Chaos and a certain new addition from the end of Episode 3) that are statted up like proper characters, I have a feeling battles would become even more interesting.

The players asked for more, but I don't know when that will be. To be honest, I really loved playing Mecha. I am ridiculously biased by my love for mecha anime, but the game really is unique and incredibly fun to play. I wouldn't mind going from the end of Episode 3 into a full on regular campaign continuing the story of the Galileo and its crew. Who knows. But enough commentary from me, here's what went down:

Episode 01: The Ghost of ZAFT
Cosmic Era 73

Two years have passed since the end of the Bloody Valentine War. The peace treaty signed after the Battle of Yachin Due ushered in an era of tense peace. However, the threat of extreme philosophies like that of Blue Cosmos and former Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala remains ever present. Safe to say little has actually changed.

During a launch ceremony at ZAFT's Armory One PLANT for the new battleship Minerva an attack was launched by an unknown force. Elite special forces ambushed the mobile suit facility. During this raid new experimental Gundam-type mobile suits the Chaos, Gaia and Abyss were stolen. The suits escaped aboard a mirage-colloid cloaked Earth Alliance warship hidden outside Armory One. Amid tense confusion about the situation, the Minerva was launched to pursue and reclaim the stolen mobile suits.

However, ZAFT's problems are only beginning. Numerous reports have been filing in regarding military transports between the PLANT's and ZAFT's various space-located bases being raided and having their supplies stolen. Fearing this might be a new declaration of war, council chairman Gilbert Durandal orders a squad to be formed to investigate the situation and gather more information so the proper course may be taken.

Assigned to the Nazca-class ship Galileo, an experimental test-type squad was ordered to depart from Armory One tasked with escorting a transport ship delivering supplies to the asteroid fortress Boaz. An ongoing secondary goal of this squad was to test new or experimental mobile suit technology so that data could be gathered and sent back to help bolster ZAFT's research. Crim and Drax were joining the crew of the Galileo for this purpose. Both had acted as test pilots for ZAFT's newest line of mobile suits. The higher ups intended for Crim to use this mission as a chance to earn time off his sentence for good behavior.  Meanwhile, Takuya was aboard the transport along with his parents because they were being transferred to Boaz to over see some projects.

While navigating the Galileo and learning where everything was, Crim bumped into Cadet Romary Regal; the Galileo's Operator. Romary seemed nervous because this was her first official assignment after graduating from military academy. Crim responded by insulting her about her pink hair and asking why she thought it looked nice. Romary was insulted at the gesture and stormed off feeling upset.

Next, Drax was feeling uneasy about the chance for combat and his first real sortie outside of simulation. So he decided to run more simulations and go over the specs for their Zaku Warriors. After some study, he was able to understand a great deal about how the Zaku performed in combat and how they could be use formations to their advantage.

Finally,  Takuya was killing time aboard the transport. He decided to leave their private cabin while his parents were on the bridge with the Captain and headed to explore the ship. Along the way, he literally bumped into a mysterious guy about his age wearing civilian clothes and who had half his face covered by messy black hair. After apologizing and introducing themselves the two got to talking. The boy's name was apparently Seiji. He seemed oddly nervous and urged Takuya to go back to his room because it was dangerous for normal people to be wandering around like this. He then mentioned he had heard rumors about transport attacks circling among the ship's crew.

Worried about the ominous rumor, Takuya parted ways on friendly terms and moved to peek a look at the MS being transported on the mobile suit deck. No sooner had this happened, the ship lurched as an explosion rocketed its frame. The sole path back had become engulfed in flames. Meanwhile, the Galileo went into a scramble to launch its mobile suits as hostiles had been sighted. Crim and Drax met Lt. Hiro Tsukasa; their squad leader. After launching, Hiro departed to deal with the one who seemed to be the leader and charged Crim and Drax to defend the transport. The enemy mobile suits were utilizing old ZAFT models: the GINN. However, their leader was piloting a more advanced upgrade: the GINN High Mobility Type II.

Inside the transport, Takuya used a nearby panel to radio the bridge. Realizing the situation was dire, the Captain ordered Takuya to commandeer one of the Zaku and use it to fly directly to the Galileo and let them guide him through docking. Worried, Takuya asked about his parents and the Captain gave them a moment to speak before mentioning he would ensure they made their way to escape vessels. Nervous, Takuya boarded the Zaku and departed.

The battle was very short lived. Crim and Drax were easily overpowering the attacking GINNs thanks to superior technology. While they held in the fight, Drax ended up taking a position near the transport and managed to fend off the attacking squad. Then, just as Takuya had gotten near the Galileo, explosions tore apart the transport as a mysterious mobile armor cut its way out. Lt. Tsukasa identified it as the Proto-Chaos: an experimental test-type for developing the mechanics and weaponry of the Chaos Gundam's mobile armor mode. Releasing its mobile weapon pods, the Proto-Chaos unleashed a full on beam spam utterly destroying the transport and killing everyone aboard.

Takuya went into shock from seeing his parents perish right before his eyes and as they pulled back, Crim and Drax were ordered to retrieve his Zaku and bring it aboard. Without his parents, Takuya was forced aboard the Galileo while said ship came to a halt at the edge of the nearby asteroid field through which the escaping MS team and Proto-Chaos had retreated into.

In the aftermath, one pilot had been captured but he refused to talk only telling those aboard to kill him. Drax also went out afterwards and salvaged parts from the MS wreckage. Who were these mysterious foes that raided ZAFT transports using ZAFT weaponry? And what would Takuya do now without his parents and stranded aboard a warship?

Episode 02: Pursuit into the Asteroid Field
A day had passed. The Galileo remained stuck at the edge of the asteroid field while the ship's Captain conferred back to Armory One for directions on how to proceed with their investigative survey. Takuya spent his time brooding alone in his room. He had asked Drax for a copy of the combat footage of the previous battle. In a dead stupor, he continually watched the fight and ensuing explosion that killed his parents. Though he did not have the emotive thoughts to process it, he began to understand a bit more about the enemy squad and their standard formations.

Drax had spent much of the last day in the mobile suit hangar going over everyone's machine and making sure they were in top working order. As he worked, Lt. Tsukasa approached desiring to talk. Drax immediately led the conversation asking why the Squad Leader's Zaku was so different looking and Tsukasa explained that he piloted a Zaku Phantom; a command-type variant for squad-leaders and higher ranking officers. Excitedly, Drax requested to see the specs and Tsukasa agreed to ensure he'd get access to the files aboard the Galileo's computer.

Laughing, Tsukasa remarked that Drax seemed very at home working with mobile suits. This sent Drax into a rampaging rant about various aspects of mobile suit design and his goals clearly showing his nigh-otaku level interest. Changing subjects, Tsukasa wanted to discuss the potential motives of the enemy pilots. He remarked that it was odd they were using outdated GINN's. If it had been the Alliance trying to stir war, it was clear that they had stronger forces based on the Armory One attack. Still, the pilots seemed quite skilled.

Drax apologized stating he had little knowledge of combat tactics or understanding such motivations. Unable to understand the deeper conversation Tsukasa wished to have, Drax bid his Squad Leader goodbye and returned to his work. Disappointed, Lt. Tsukasa wandered off shaking his head slowly.

Finally, Crim happened upon Romary again while leaving the ship's mess hall. Initially he apologized for insulting her hair and it was clear the girl was still apprehensive about him. Coming forward herself, she remarked that she had been frightened during the last battle, but that she was glad the pilots all got back okay. She went on to add she was glad Crim returned too despite what she had learned; it seemed the ship's computer detailed Crim's criminal past. Crim tried to vaguely explain how he didn't have a choice and that sometimes people were forced to do desperate things. However, his musing were too vague and Romary wasn't able to really understand his true feelings. Still unsure around him, Romary excused herself.

Just then, the pilots along with Takuya were ordered to report to the briefing room. There they found Tsukasa and also met Captain Meyers who oversaw the Galileo. Meyers apologized for not making a formal introduction sooner. Displaying a map of the asteroid field, Tsukasa began to go over the current situation. They had unknown enemies using ZAFT mobile suits to attack and steal supplies off transports. This time they had made their biggest heist yet: the Proto-Chaos.

Armory One had upgraded the Galileo's task to be top priority on identifying these terrorists; particularly if they were in league with the Alliance or such rogue groups as the Blue Cosmos. Second to this, the group was to retrieve (or failing all possible means of doing so destroy) the Proto-Chaos. After going over some other data for the area, Tsukasa put forth that the squad had to have a ship they were launching from due to the lack of activity in the area.

Noting that the asteroid field saw little traffic because it was usually easier and faster to cut around, he suggested that hiding the ship within seemed the most likely possibility. Thus, the Captain ordered the MS Squad be sent in to investigate. Tsukasa then added that he would like it if Takuya would join them.

Takuya instantly opposed this suggestion bringing up the fact that he was a civilian. The Captain confirmed that they were short-handed, especially in the face of their current situation, so even one more pilot would help. However, he didn't feel right asking a high school kid to become a pilot. Takuya added to this stating that he had no formal training. However, Tsukasa countered saying that he had seen him flying the Zaku in their previous battle just as well, if not better, than some cadets he had trained.

With a malicious grin, Tsukasa reminded Takuya that the people they were after also happened to be responsible for killing the boy's parents. However, this brought only brooding silence. Not wanting to belabor the point, Tsukasa ordered everyone to suit up and meet at the hangar leaving Takuya behind. As he left, the Captain put a comforting hand on Takuya's shoulder and assured him that if he didn't want to fight, he did not have to. However, there was no way currently to send him back to the PLANTs. Until the opportune time came, the Galileo would be his home. He added that it was clear Takuya had a knack for piloting; if something happened to their three pilots he might be the only one they could rely on like it or not. As this truth sank in, Takuya decided to fight on the agreement that Lt. Tsukasa would watch his back and make sure to have him pull out in time if things got too rough.

Later, the MS team launched with Takuya in tow. As they explored the asteroid field they eventually came upon another Nazca-class ship. They had but a moment to signal the Galileo before the mysterious vessel began to launch its own squad of five GINN's (outnumbering the Galileo crew) led by the High Mobility Type II. Lt. Tsukasa broke away again to tie up their leader and urged the three pilots to try and secure the ship, if possible.

The battle was harsh, a single GINN singled out Takuya and he quickly discovered surprising talent at piloting as he dodged attacks time and again eventually ramming the GINN so hard some of the shoulder armor broke apart. As they continued to clash virtually hand to hand, despite the inefficient nature of the combat, the pilot hailed Takuya. It seemed to be a younger man's voice and he questioned why someone who seemed to pilot like they had no training was on the battlefield. Takuya asked back who he was speaking to and they commented that someone like him had no place on a battlefield. Takuya pushed for the pilot to identify himself, however, he then broke away from combat and vanished into the asteroid field. Drax rushed the Nazca-class but then quickly got overwhelmed as three GINN ganged up on him blowing off one leg despite his expert dodging. His counter-fire managed to drop two units.

Crim's actions, however, shocked the party. Charging past one GINN, Crim leveled his beam tomahawk to cleave apart the mobile suit at its cockpit granting him his first sound from these mysterious terrorists: screams of terror before instant death. Then, moving to another GINN, Crim slammed his Zaku's hand into the cockpit gravely wounding the pilot as he began hear screams and pleading for mercy. Without falter, Crim had the Zaku clench its fist brutally murdering the pilot before kicking away the GINN to explode in defeat.

Taking advantage of Crim's rampage, Drax managed to sneak around and ambush the bridge of the Nazca-class. Pointing his beam rifle directly at the bridge, Drax hailed the Captain demanding they surrender. Moments later, terms of surrender had been granted. This prompted their Squad Leader and remaining mobile suit to break away and retreat in varying directions. The Proto-Chaos, unless it rested on board, was nowhere to be seen.

As the Galileo moved in, work began to secure the captured Nazca-class and explorations were launched while its crew was gathered to be taken to the Galileo's brig for holding and questioning. Though shaken, Takuya survived. Tsukasa complimented the boy stating that he knew from the first second he saw him escape the transport that he would be a natural at piloting. Crim, haunted by the ghosts of his past having lost himself to bloodlust in the battle, retreated to be alone in his private quarters. Drax, meanwhile, salvaged the battlefield once more collecting more mobile suit parts.

What would be learned from the mystery ship? Who was behind these thefts and attacks? And what would become of Takuya; forced to fight against his will for survival?

Episode 03: Counterattack
As the Galileo took time to begin exploring the enemy Nazca-Class ship and question its crew, a supply transport made a rendezvous with them as well. Captain Meyers had sent back a request for additional support when he contacted Armory One after seeing that the enemy had stolen the Proto-Chaos. Along with this transport came two new pilots: Zak (a ZAFT Special Forces member) and Kanji (one of the earliest mobile suit pilots and a decorated veteran of the Bloody Valentine War).

Aside from their Zaku Warriors, the transport also brought along a complete compliment of Wizard Packs; much needed strength if they were to continue pursuit of the Proto-Chaos. As things were being transferred and machine repaired, Takuya made his way to the mess hall still carrying heavy doubts about the idea of piloting a mobile suit. There, he bumped into Romary who seemed to be cooking at a large pot. She remarked that she was happy Takuya had come back from the battle unharmed. When questioning what she was doing, Romary explained that before being deployed her older sister was teaching her how to cook. They hadn't progressed very far and she didn't know when they would return so she was hoping to practice on her own.

Gazing into the pot, Takuya noted a foul purple ooze that seemed to have a deathly stench raise off of it. Romary asked Takuya to try out her cooking and reluctantly, not wanting to upset her feelings, the boy agreed. However, one taste was more than enough for the poisonous food to take effect. Holding back the urge to hurl, a very sick Takuya stumbled out and began to limp towards his room as Romary sighed with frustration.

As Takuya left, he passed by Zak who was currently exploring the ship. Zak wondered what was wrong with the kid but thought it best not to bother him. Wandering into the mess hall, Zak met and made friends with Romary. Ultimately, she offered Zak a chance to try her cooking as well. Not wanting to be rude at first meeting, Zak agreed and also sampled her terrible cooking. Falling prey to the same effects as Takuya, Zak began to stumble out and seek the medical bay. Romary shed an upset tear wondering why neither had enjoyed the cooking she poured her heart and soul into.

Elsewhere, Drax wasin the mobile suit hangar. Drax was working away as hard as possible repairing the damage made on his Zaku in the previous battle. With hard work and determination, along with his natural talent for mobile suit repair, Drax managed to get his machine back in tip top shape. Amid the chaos and hustle of the hangar, Drax couldn't help but feel right at home. As he studied the design plans of the Wizard Packs, his mind wandered to that of the Gundam-type mobile suits. He recounted once more, to several of the mechanics, how it was his dream to one day build his own Gundam.

Crim, after his murderous rampage last battle, remained an unknown presence on the ship having locked himself away inside his room. The crew of the Galileo couldn't be sure, but it seemed the former criminal was hiding something. He claimed innocence, but the brutality displayed in battle seemed to suggest otherwise. Finally, Kanji had made his way to the mess hall looking for a chance to drink. When entering, he noted a young girl (Romary) dumping out a large cooking pot. Moving on, he found a small side chamber where a rack of various wines were held. There, he met Captain Meyers who was having a quite drink alone.

Realizing that Kanji was a fellow old-soul, Meyers invited the pilot to sit and have a drink with him. They passed quite some time knocking back drinks and trading war stories. As the bottle became empty, Kanji realized he had found a kindred spirit in the Captain and Meyers remarked that he was glad to have someone like Kanji aboard the Galileo's MS team. He asked him to watch over the other pilots; particularly the younger ones like Drax. Kanji departed back to the hangar to see how his Zaku Warrior was doing, while Captain Meyers made his way to reassume command at the ship's bridge.

An hour or so later, alarms began to go off. Captain Meyers reported across the ship for the MS Team to launch; the Galileo was under attack. It seemed their mysterious enemy desired to attack the ship in retaliation for capturing their comrades. The Wizard Packs were still being unloaded so it was impossible to make use of them in this conflict. As everybody scrambled to launch Takuya stayed behind in his room, much to Lt. Tsukasa's disappointment, brooding about the recent loss of his parents and the experience of the previous battle. Once the team was fully deployed, orders were laid out. Lt. Tsukasa and Crim would hang back to defend the Galileo. The rest of the team was to head forward and engage the enemy trying their best to draw fire away from the ship.

The enemy squad of GINN's was once more led by the mysterious High Mobility Type II; though Proto-Chaos was nowhere to be seen. As the pilots flew into battle, they were quickly overwhelmed. It seemed these new pilots were much more skilled than the previous forces. To make matters worse, without Lt. Tsukasa locking up their leader, the GINN High Mobility Type II was a force to be reckoned with. No matter how they tried, none of the pilots could land a single shot on his machine; earning the GINN worthy of its title.

Realizing they were overwhelmed, Drax contacted the Galileo asking for any kind of support at all. However, Captain Meyers revealed that the bridge crew was dealing with their own problem. Romary had mysteriously vanished. She never turned up at the bridge when the alarms sounded and nobody could find her despite crewmen going all over the ship and searching every room. Despite worrying for her safety, Drax did his best to keep fighting as is.

The battle became even more grim over time. Though several GINN's were downed, everybody fighting had taken heavy damage. It took everything Kanji had just to fend off the enemy leader from getting close to the Galileo; even with support fire from Crim and Lt. Tsukasa. The enemy leader contacted Kanji stressing that amateurs had no place on the battlefield. Though curious about who was speaking, Kanji remained silent refusing to let himself be toyed with by the enemy's words.

Eventually, fighting tooth and nail, the Galileo's team managed to scale the enemy force down to its leader and two GINN's. With victory in sight, a cruel twist occurred. Crim, who had remained silent most of the battle, suddenly hailed the Galileo and its MS team. The video screen held a horrifying sight. Within the cockpit of his Zaku Warrior, Crim had Romary gagged and bound with a pistol placed against the side of her head.

Crim demanded that the Galileo's team stand down and allow the enemy mobile suits to escape combat. Laughing maniacally, Crim apologized to the Galileo noting that he had simply been given a better offer than ZAFT's probationary piloting agreement. He went on to add that "this foolish girl" wouldn't leave him alone, so he intended to use her a collateral for the time being. Romary's eyes were filled with tears of fear causing deep frustration in the pilots as they realized how scared she must be.

Accepting defeat, Captain Meyers ordered everyone to stand down and return to the Galileo. Laughing at his accomplishment, Crim joined the enemy suits and departed with them; taking Romary along. In the MS hangar, the team's frustration was apparent. As soon as he exited his Zaku Phantom, Lt. Tsukasa removed his helmet and chucked it full force against one of the walls as he screamed in rage. Likewise, Drax punched the nearest wall angered that he couldn't do anything to save the innocent Romary.

Crim had betrayed the Galileo and now the ship's cheerful operator Romary Regal had been kidnapped. Still, the crew of the Galileo were unsure exactly who their enemy was and what their goal happened to be. What would become of their mission?

And what of Romary?

Just Ten?

I came across an interesting blog post via DungeonsMaster that was posted from Untimately. A rather simple question is posed that took a lot more thought to answer than I expected. That question was simply this: if you could only keep ten of your printed RPG books, which would you pick? I don't think I have the viewership to pose that question myself, but I can certainly offer an answer.

Initially, I spent a good deal of time reading other people's responses. It might just be based on my own perception (check), but it seemed like a lot of people clung mostly to one game line (D&D for example) or one sort of broader linked area (OSR games) barring an exception here or there. I suppose I don't fall into any sort of norm with that. After a lot of deliberation my own list is all over the place. Some old, some new, OSR, fantasy, horror, anime inspired and beyond. In the end, my list also ended up skewing solely towards core rule books. I noticed in a lot of the lists, people had selected modules or source books. There's certainly nothing wrong with that approach and when weighing the actual physical RPG books I own there were some tough calls.

I guess when it came down to the bottom line, when I began to consider the idea of only having ten printed RPG books my train of thought led me to the idea that I should just be selecting core rule books. At the end of the day, I can make up additional content (whether it is as good as printed content is a different story) and I can design my own plots and adventures. The core rules for a certain genre or style could go a lot further, in my eyes. I also tried to avoid grouping multiple books together. I saw a lot of that and while I get the logic, I wanted to adhere to the base question as much as possible (though in one instance I had to break my own rule). Again, neither approach is wrong. This is just the mindset I went into while parsing down my collection into ten books. And to be honest, it was pretty tough. I think every official DCC module I have picked up since the new RPG launched are all top notch five star material. It would be rough to let them go.

Likewise, I feel a little bad that as important as 4e is to me (got me back into the hobby, I have played or ran it almost weekly since then and it takes up a majority focus with this blog) it didn't manage to get a book into this list. I think that is in part due to how much content for the game is available in digital format. When you never consult the books 95% of the time, they tend to not keep much of a hold on you. However, the fact does remain that in this scenario losing the 4e books I own would not really impede my playing of running of it due to the digital tools available. I suppose then that if I could give an honorable mention it would go to the Rules Compendium which is excellently put together and probably my, and many 4e players', most used resource at the table.

So if I could only keep ten of my printed RPG books here are my picks, in no certain order:

1) Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG: Easily the game I am most excited about right now. DCC won me over with its Free RPG Day preview. If I could only keep playing one game this might be very strong in the running. I like the feel the game tries to present and the gritty sword & sorcery tone it has. To me, this is my D&D NEXT. I haven't posted anything on this blog about my feelings on 5th but they are not positive. Rather than being a proper evolution (which is what a name like NEXT suggests to me) it feels like WOTC is backpedaling to try and win back old fans. DCC on the other hand is a step into new territory while also holding to a lot of old school (and OSR) conventions while still being new and fresh. The artwork is also gorgeous and the best I have seen in an RPG product for quite some time.

2) World of Darkness Core Rules: For a long time, White Wolf's World of Darkness was the only tabletop RPG I would play. After moving away from D&D I bounced around trying a lot of games and finally settled on WoD. I have always been a fan of horror stories/films and I liked how simple the game was to run and deal with. At the time, it really felt like it was the first thing I played that was outright designed to put the story first. Ultimately, I ended up riding out the "Time of Judgement" that heralded the current (new) World of Darkness and though there are differing opinions, I prefer it over the old (though I enjoy both still to this day). The rules were super streamlined and fixed a lot of the quirks in the old system. It also helped that, this time, the game was designed from the ground up to better handle crossovers between the various supernatural splats. The core rules (blue book) alone is extremely useful in my opinion. With it alone you could easily run a lot of different styles of horror games or even other genres like a cop drama or some high action mob film style affair.

3) Big Eyes, Small Mouth Revised 2nd Edition: Being such a big fan of anime, it is only natural that some of the picks in my ten would be anime-themed RPG's. I initially discovered Guardians of Order, believe it or not, through their Sailor Moon Roleplaying Game & Resource Book which used a modified version of the BESM system. Sailor Moon happened to be one of the earliest anime that I had a chance to see. Call it mass appeal or my friends and I were just weird, but we all enjoyed and once we stumbled across a tabletop RPG for it several of us picked it up. We played a surprisingly lengthy, given the source material, game with the PC's cast as members in the Negaverse and though it played out much more light-hearted and comical it was probably my first taste of a villain/chaotic campaign. I enjoyed the system and how well it hit the feel of Sailor Moon that I always kept a look out for the GOO logo.

That led to stumbling across BESM2R which was basically more of the same, but with even more content and broad enough to cover any type of anime. It is my go to game for running anything anime-related barring the Mecha genre. While the rules aren't that bad (and much less of a nuisance than the overbearing rules-heavy approach of stuff like Mechwarrior or Mekton; just not my style), they also don't feel to me like they are (or act out in play as) very evocative of the Mecha genre in anime.

4) Chris Perrin's Mecha: So if I don't use BESM to cover Mecha anime (perhaps my favorite genre) then what? I have spent a very long time looking over systems and trying them out to find that one game that really struck me for running an anime Mecha rpg. I first stumbled across mentions of Chris Perrin's Mecha through a thread on rpg.net about what system to use for a mecha game. It was the only one in the thread that was unknown to me and after stumbling on the actual site and the drivethrurpg page I was intrigued. I ended up downloading the quick start and instantly fell in love. It was rules-light (my favorite), but still captured the feel of the genre.

It even included built in rules to really hammer home the feel of watching a Mecha anime such as having an opening theme to play at each session's start, using background music for combat and constructing the story into Episodes that follow a similar flow in construction. I ran a short-lived play-by-post game and it was a lot of fun, but I'd really like to try a game at the actual table with the music and everything. It's just a matter of finding the right people I suppose. Chris Perrin is a pretty cool guy, in any case, and there's actually  a sourcebook on the way called Mecha Combiners which caters to the combining giant robot genre for stuff like Voltron.

5) Weird West RPG: One of the main points of discussion here at this blog! I sort of picked up Weird West on a random whim. For a long time I frequently checked drivethrurpg for reviews or info on RPG products, but I just never made that leap to getting digital releases beyond freebie indie stuff that was distributed online by the creator. With the release of DCC I decided to finally bite the bullet and picked up Perils of the Sunken City, the first 3rd-party release for the system by Purple Sorcerer Games. Aside from being an excellent module (it's hard to pick a favorite 3rd party publisher for DCC because all of it is so good, but Purple Sorcerer would be in the running for #1 in my book), it also warmed me up to the idea of owning RPG material just in digital format. So one day, in boredom, I was scrolling through the best seller list for small press publishers and happened upon Weird West. The low page count and dollar price tag made it seem like a joke, but it had several good reviews and also some references to OSR so I decided on a whim to pick it up.

It turned out to be an excellent little game. It's pretty much a stripped down version of the original D&D, in my eyes, flavored for the weird west genre. I love the genre and I love how fast the game plays as well as how easily it lends itself towards making up new rules, content and what not. The PocketMod concept is a great idea too and yes, pictured here is one of my own printed out copies of the PocketMod. They say a dollar doesn't go a long way anymore, but if you use to buy this game I think you can get far more gaming hours back than what you put in.

6) Call of Cthulhu 6th Edition: H.P. Lovecraft is one of my all time favorite authors so Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu being on this list is not a big shocker. I picked up this book, yes it's a hardback copy, years ago and never had a chance to try it out. BRP is a nice straightforward system though it gets a bit wonky in combat to me; I'm looking forward to see how the 7th Edition will change things. While World of Darkness might be my top choice of all time for horror roleplaying, I think it is just easier to turn to CoC for something rooted solely in the Lovecraftian realm of focus. A lot of us buy RPG books and they end up sitting shelves and never being used. Sometimes we wonder about getting rid of them and sometimes we do.

Call of Cthulhu sat on my shelf for probably six years or so without seeing any play. Then, just a few months ago I got invited to play in a game and I was so glad that I always held onto this book. The campaign has been pretty fun. it is set in the Modern Era and the Keeper has basically worked out much of the standard Cthulhu Mythos (wiping them out or having them pretty much put out of focus back in the 1920's) and instead replaced them with a modern sort of Mythos drawing from things like J-Horror, Creepypasta and popular internet media like Slenderman. Like DCC, it's on my list to get around talking about eventually as I have had a lot of fun with the system.

7) Demon: The Fallen: My first dip back into the same game line with this list; though arguably it is for the (old) World of Darkness so to some degree it is different. Demon is hands down my favorite of the supernatural splats for the oWoD. I was a latecomer to WoD so Demon was just hitting the shelves and as I worked on picking up a backlog of core books little did I know that it was almost at its end. It might be seen as a controversial game to some, but I always thought it had a certain charm. It clearly drew a lot off of Milton's Paradise Lost and to some degree was really a modernization of that motif. I really enjoyed the struggle placed on characters between embracing the monsters they had fallen into or trying to walk the hard road in the hopes of redemption. For all the supernatural elements and reliance of Christian imagery, that's really a very personal human tale; in my opinion. It was hard for me to decide between Demon or the Dark Ages stuff they put out which was also excellent.

I settled on Demon for the simple fact that I could not pick just one Dark Ages book and this game will always have a special place for me due to a rather long running campaign I ran during high school. It was my first time really running something long term and serious. The first time where I held a session solely devoted to sitting down and coming up with a background for each player's character and figuring out who these people were within the confines of our story. Time of Judgement was launched amid our campaign so I picked up the book and we had a fitting and highly epic conclusion.

It was a very satisfying experience and I think particularly so because it did end. So often we start a tabletop RPG and things never come to fruition. Like a long running television show, issues arise and eventually things just stop never to continue or be resolved. So while this wasn't some spectacular multi-year game, it was a defined story with a start and a finish; something I will always remember.

8) Labyrinth Lord/Advanced Edition Companion: So this is my one exception to my desire of keeping to a single book per entry. I love Labyrinth Lord. After 4e got me back into the hobby, I stumbled across the OSR and everything that went along with it. AD&D had been my introduction to tabletop roleplaying so there was something of a desire to recapture that feeling. I looked over a lot of the big names LL itself, Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC and so forth. In the end, Labyrinth Lord was my favorite. Mixed with the AEC to run 1st Edition it really felt a lot like how we played the game when I was introduced to things rather than the books as written. Best as I can tell, that was the goal with the AEC so mission accomplished. I also enjoy how compatible it is right out of the gate with classic modules or event content designed for other OSR games. If it is not 4e then this is really what I'd prefer to play in the D&D front.

I was lucky enough to take part in a game at Forge-Con this year and it was excellent; especially hanging out with some other people just as passionate about a game that a lot of people I encounter have never heard of. It tends to be one of my go to suggestions when those interested ask about free games as the offer of no-art pdf copies is an excellent idea. While I enjoy B/X as well and the core LL book is great, AD&D just has that nostalgia pull for me so I have to list the core book and its expansion as a "set" for this entry.

9) Star Wars Roleplaying Game 2nd Edition: This was likely the first non-D&D tabletop I ever had a chance to experience. A copy of the core book just sort of fell into the lap of a friend by chance and we all loved Star Wars so it was an exciting idea. I picked up my copy of the book this year at Forge-Con and I was happy to have it again and in such good shape. This entry might be mostly dominated by nostalgia. My friend that ran us through several games, re-starting multiple times, played things fast and loose making things up as he went. However, we had a blast. I'll never forget how in each game he would allow one of us to stumble across a broken lightsaber and lay down hints that somewhere in the galaxy we might be able to find a wise old Jedi capable of repairing it and teaching someone the ways of the Force. On a more serious note, West End Game's d6 system is excellent and plays really well in my eyes. I was happy to learn, as I got back into the hobby, that it's been experiencing its own old school revolution with releases like Mini-Six (I regret not picking up a copy at Forge) and Azamar.

10) All Flesh Must Be Eaten: And we come to the end on another horror game. I really do love horror stories/movies so that's probably got some influence. Again, a level of nostalgia taints this choice but I still think it is a warranted choice. One of the last games I ran before getting out of the hobby for awhile was a one-shot for some friends I have known since I was in kindergarten. I showed up with the book and a few character sheets telling the players to stat up themselves. Following this we began as I ran them through a typical day in their life, but naturally things ended up falling apart as a zombie outbreak occurred. It was very free form but also very fun. Since we all knew our hometown well it was easy for them to visualize what was going on and decide a course of action and likewise just as easy for me to come up with stuff on the fly based on where they were going. For one night, we had our own very personal zombie flick.

Could I run a zombie apocalypse with WoD? Yes. However, AFMBE just has that perfect feel for the genre built right in with its mechanics and how the book presents things. I guess that seems to be a trend for me. Like Chris Perrin's Mecha or Call of Cthulhu some games just perfectly capture that feeling of the genre they represent within the system itself and I find that really appealing. With the surging popularity of The Walking Dead I'd like to think this book might be seeing some more use in the future.

So that's my list. If I could only keep ten of my printed RPG books, the above would be my choices. I stuck primarily to core rule books because I felt that would get me the most mileage; of course any approach would work so long as you were pleased with what you kept. It's certainly an eclectic mix of games covering a lot of different genre. Again, this goes back to why I decided to name this blog after an old collection of Sword & Sorcery tales that hit in all across the wide range of the genre.