Well, I finally kicked off that game of Mecha that I've been wanting to start. Successful enough that my idea of trying a one-shot morphed into running a mini-campaign with my players. So, that'll mean updates on how that goes. (Still unsure how I'll wrap up Spark of Fae, but I'll figure that out...we ran into the great barrier of "the semester is over", and I don't know exactly how to get in touch with all my players.)
This also marks my first time running an organized game over online chat. It definitely lends a different quality to play, and it is incredibly nice to have an OOC and an IC channel. Keeps table chatter segmented off, away from roleplay. If only I could do that in real life...
(as a side note, I'll be using the "dgr" tag to keep track of my "Dystopia and Giant Robots" posts)
The Line-Up
We have a fun mix of players, including one who played in Spark of Fae. (As before, I'm using pseudonyms for privacy's sake)
- That would be Turniphead (previously known as Kenshi...there's a story behind this one...and yes, it involves Hayao Miyazaki), the calm and collected one. Not so much of a newcomer to RPGs any longer, she's eagerly delving into the creative aspects of the story. Plus, this system is a little simpler to manage than 4th Edition.
Kureaa is probably the newest to RPGs. She's played in a game of Swords and Wizardry, and is active in freeform roleplaying. Kureaa is very socially outgoing, with a strongly engaging personality.
Panda (yes, there's a long, long story behind that one) has been acting as DM for the previously mentioned Swords and Wizardry campaign, and both she and Kenshi have been active in a 3.5 D&D campaign. She's easily the dry wit of the group, and owns a Jayne hat.
I worked with each player, introducing them to the setting ("Revolution Deity Godblind", found in the Mecha sourcebook) and then working with them to make characters that engaged the world. Revolution Deity Godblind is a dystopia of sorts: the gods who live Up Above smite down people who rebel against their rigid framework of rules, which serves to keep everyone in line. It's not a bad life per se, and is marketed as a good existence for the common citizens. Not the players, of course. I told each player to give me a "Drive" for their character, something which they hold in secret from everyone, something which would break the bonds of the Living City's society. (The Living City is the quasi-sentient utopian city where everyone lives.)
The Characters!
- Janice, played by Turniphead, is the unhinged artist, who has just barely managed to keep off of the gods' radar. She has an affinity for painting with the color red, and goes off on demented rants to herself. She is a rather reclusive character, keeping tabs on her art very carefully, scrounging together extra canvasses in secret.
Paige, played by Kureaa, is the petite, cute redhead mechanic-in-schooling who dreams of falling in love, as opposed to the arranged marriages of the City. To this end, we developed an NPC, Nathan, the skilled cellist with whom she shares feelings. The closeness of their relationship has been impacted severely by the threat of the gods' intervention.
Katsuo is the nerdy mech technician (he works on the suits of the Protectors, the City's police force, who own the only legal mechs), who is utterly fascinated by mech technology. He hoards all of the data he can, even though the extent of his research is in highly forbidden territory.
As you can see, we have quite an eclectic group. So far, they've all somehow managed to slip beneath the gods' radar. Well, they find out just how that happens in the session to come...
Next time around: robots, romance, and rebellion.
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