Lancer: Fires of Rubicon — OOC
Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:22 am
Welcome to Lancer Tabletop, recruit.
Lancer imagines a future where humanity has spread to the stars after weathering terrible ecological collapse on Earth - the end of the Anthropocene as a consequence of unrestrained consumption and poor stewardship. Five thousand years later, humanity lives in the wake of a desperate revolution, one where the victorious radicals now manage the galaxy they've won.
The setting features a mix of gritty, mud-and-lasers military science fiction and mythic science fantasy, where conscript pilots mix ranks with flying aces, mercenary guns-for-hire brawl with secretive corporate agents, and relativistic paladins cross thermal lances with causality-breaking, unknowable beings. Lancer's galaxy is one where utopia exists but is under threat, and the struggle is not yet entirely won; the revolution is not yet done.
In Lancer, players adopt the roles of mechanized chassis pilots - mech pilots - comrades together in a galaxy of danger and hope. Some groups will fight to rectify the crimes of previous administrations; others will fight for their nation, pieces in a greater game of hegemony. Others will carry the banner of a corporate or mercenary company, working to advance private interests while lining their pockets. Others still will fight for groups acting in opposition to those in power - for the underground, for the forgotten, agents of entropy, and agents of yet more radical revolutions.
Lancer offers deep, modular mech customization, a wide range of player backgrounds and hooks to prompt storytelling, and a system and setting with room for any narrative you and your group want to tell.
As fresh graduates of the Lancer Academy program, you'll pilot mechs and take on missions provided for you by Senior Office Vander Stoneheart, a human on the verge of retirement. You'll combat these Rogue A.I. and their conspirers on Sorties. As you climb the ranks, we'll begin to discover what's causing this uprising. With your help, we can prevent the destruction of our new home and put a stop to this once and for all.
(Helpful Links)
https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf-free This is the Core Rulebook, free to use from Mastiff Press.
https://compcon.app/#/ This is the Character Builder app, where you'll create your mech and pilot.
https://retrogrademinis.com/ This website allows you to create simple pixel Mech art, should you choose to get creative.
Character Creation
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Characters will be made with these standard rules in mind:
-You'll begin play at License Level 0 (abbr. LL0), the standard for Lancer.
LL0 characters start with the following:
• A background, which provides bonuses on skill
checks (p. 20).
• Four +2 pilot triggers (p. 25).
• One +2 mech skill or two +1 mech skills.
• Three rank 1 talents (p. 90).
• A license for all General Massive Systems
(GMS) gear and weapons, and one mech FRAME -
the GMS-SP1 Everest (p. 118).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATING A PILOT
To make the pilot part of your character at LL0, just follow these simple steps:
1. Choose a background: You can create a background yourself, choose from the list of
backgrounds, or roll a die to randomly select one. During narrative play, you can get bonuses
by invoking your pilot’s background.
2. Choose triggers: Choose four +2 triggers, based on your pilot’s background.
3. Write down your pilot’s combat statistics: SIZE 1/2, 6 HP, 10 EVASION, 10 E-DEFENSE, and 4
SPEED.
4. Choose gear: Before embarking on a mission, you’ll choose gear for your pilot from the gear list
in the Compendium (p. 108). Pilots can have armor, up to two weapons, and up to three other
pieces of gear.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATING A MECH
Constructing and customizing a mech may seem daunting at first, but broken down into steps it’s much simpler than it seems.
1. Start by picking a FRAME from the licenses available to you. The FRAME gives your mech its
base statistics. At LL0, you only have access to the GMS License 0 mechs.
2. Add bonuses from your mech skills. At LL0, your character starts with two points to
spend on mech skills:
▪ HULL: + 2 HP/point; +1 REPAIR CAP/2 points.
▪ AGILITY: +1 EVASION/point; +1 SPEED/2 points.
▪ SYSTEMS: +1 TECH ATTACK and E-DEFENSE/
point; +1 SP/2 points.
▪ ENGINEERING: +1 HEAT CAP/point; +1 use for
limited gear/2 points.
3. Add GRIT to your mech’s HP, SP, attack rolls, and SAVE TARGET. You get your first point of GRIT at LL1.
4. Pick weapons and allocate them to your FRAME’Savailable mounts. Unless they have the Unique
tag, you can take weapons more than once. At LL0, you can only choose from the GMS weapon list.
5. Choose systems up to your SP. Unless they have the Unique tag, you can take systems more than
once. At LL0, you can only choose from the GMS systems list.
6. Write down your core bonuses, if any. You choose your first core bonus at LL3.
7. Write down your relevant talents. At LL0, you have three rank I talents.
With that, you’re done!
(See Post Below for Example LL0 Character)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Characters
Jake - Defcon, Piloting the Horizon Tempest
Wal - Rhiannon, Piloting the Titania
Grey - Medusa, Piloting the Halitrephes
Bart - Nemo, Piloting the Nautilus
Grom - NO-DELIVERANCE, Piloting the Sanctuary
Dio - Phoenix, Piloting the 47 Shot to Align the Cause
Inactive Characters
Bender - Shanghai, Piloting the Calico
Lancer imagines a future where humanity has spread to the stars after weathering terrible ecological collapse on Earth - the end of the Anthropocene as a consequence of unrestrained consumption and poor stewardship. Five thousand years later, humanity lives in the wake of a desperate revolution, one where the victorious radicals now manage the galaxy they've won.
The setting features a mix of gritty, mud-and-lasers military science fiction and mythic science fantasy, where conscript pilots mix ranks with flying aces, mercenary guns-for-hire brawl with secretive corporate agents, and relativistic paladins cross thermal lances with causality-breaking, unknowable beings. Lancer's galaxy is one where utopia exists but is under threat, and the struggle is not yet entirely won; the revolution is not yet done.
In Lancer, players adopt the roles of mechanized chassis pilots - mech pilots - comrades together in a galaxy of danger and hope. Some groups will fight to rectify the crimes of previous administrations; others will fight for their nation, pieces in a greater game of hegemony. Others will carry the banner of a corporate or mercenary company, working to advance private interests while lining their pockets. Others still will fight for groups acting in opposition to those in power - for the underground, for the forgotten, agents of entropy, and agents of yet more radical revolutions.
Lancer offers deep, modular mech customization, a wide range of player backgrounds and hooks to prompt storytelling, and a system and setting with room for any narrative you and your group want to tell.
As fresh graduates of the Lancer Academy program, you'll pilot mechs and take on missions provided for you by Senior Office Vander Stoneheart, a human on the verge of retirement. You'll combat these Rogue A.I. and their conspirers on Sorties. As you climb the ranks, we'll begin to discover what's causing this uprising. With your help, we can prevent the destruction of our new home and put a stop to this once and for all.
(Helpful Links)
https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf-free This is the Core Rulebook, free to use from Mastiff Press.
https://compcon.app/#/ This is the Character Builder app, where you'll create your mech and pilot.
https://retrogrademinis.com/ This website allows you to create simple pixel Mech art, should you choose to get creative.
Character Creation
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Characters will be made with these standard rules in mind:
-You'll begin play at License Level 0 (abbr. LL0), the standard for Lancer.
LL0 characters start with the following:
• A background, which provides bonuses on skill
checks (p. 20).
• Four +2 pilot triggers (p. 25).
• One +2 mech skill or two +1 mech skills.
• Three rank 1 talents (p. 90).
• A license for all General Massive Systems
(GMS) gear and weapons, and one mech FRAME -
the GMS-SP1 Everest (p. 118).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATING A PILOT
To make the pilot part of your character at LL0, just follow these simple steps:
1. Choose a background: You can create a background yourself, choose from the list of
backgrounds, or roll a die to randomly select one. During narrative play, you can get bonuses
by invoking your pilot’s background.
2. Choose triggers: Choose four +2 triggers, based on your pilot’s background.
3. Write down your pilot’s combat statistics: SIZE 1/2, 6 HP, 10 EVASION, 10 E-DEFENSE, and 4
SPEED.
4. Choose gear: Before embarking on a mission, you’ll choose gear for your pilot from the gear list
in the Compendium (p. 108). Pilots can have armor, up to two weapons, and up to three other
pieces of gear.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATING A MECH
Constructing and customizing a mech may seem daunting at first, but broken down into steps it’s much simpler than it seems.
1. Start by picking a FRAME from the licenses available to you. The FRAME gives your mech its
base statistics. At LL0, you only have access to the GMS License 0 mechs.
2. Add bonuses from your mech skills. At LL0, your character starts with two points to
spend on mech skills:
▪ HULL: + 2 HP/point; +1 REPAIR CAP/2 points.
▪ AGILITY: +1 EVASION/point; +1 SPEED/2 points.
▪ SYSTEMS: +1 TECH ATTACK and E-DEFENSE/
point; +1 SP/2 points.
▪ ENGINEERING: +1 HEAT CAP/point; +1 use for
limited gear/2 points.
3. Add GRIT to your mech’s HP, SP, attack rolls, and SAVE TARGET. You get your first point of GRIT at LL1.
4. Pick weapons and allocate them to your FRAME’Savailable mounts. Unless they have the Unique
tag, you can take weapons more than once. At LL0, you can only choose from the GMS weapon list.
5. Choose systems up to your SP. Unless they have the Unique tag, you can take systems more than
once. At LL0, you can only choose from the GMS systems list.
6. Write down your core bonuses, if any. You choose your first core bonus at LL3.
7. Write down your relevant talents. At LL0, you have three rank I talents.
With that, you’re done!
(See Post Below for Example LL0 Character)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Active Characters
Jake - Defcon, Piloting the Horizon Tempest
Wal - Rhiannon, Piloting the Titania
Grey - Medusa, Piloting the Halitrephes
Bart - Nemo, Piloting the Nautilus
Grom - NO-DELIVERANCE, Piloting the Sanctuary
Dio - Phoenix, Piloting the 47 Shot to Align the Cause
Inactive Characters
Bender - Shanghai, Piloting the Calico