There has been a lot of buzz over Warrior, Rogue and Mage since it debuted a few months ago. For those familiar with RPGs, it feels open-ended and light. It seems to be perfectly suited for quick games as well as enduring campaigns. I even wrote a post creating a few spells and a gun-toting mage.
Part of its allure, however, comes from the perception that it can be expanded into any genre. I thought about creating a Metabarons type setting with the rules. Mark Meredith is creating an espionage type of game. One of the bloggers on the author’s blog is working on another genre of his own. There’s something about the ruleset that suggests an ability to expand it in any direction you choose.
When I saw Mutant Future as an extension of Labyrinth Lord I had the same feeling. LL is flexible enough for an post-apocalyptic game without changing too much. Other game systems will work as well, there’s Microlite20, ZeFRS and my favorite, Risus. Still, seeing Labyrinth Lord brings back all the gonzo action of my old high school group. It gives me a chance to bring out all the crazy mecha meets airships meets ethereal plane meets clockwork stuff crammed in a few design notebooks in the corner of my books. I hope that after twenty years, experiences in other game systems can transform those scribbles into something fun.
This upcoming series in the design journal is an effort to contribute to the OSR. It won’t be focused on restating older rules, but will be oriented towards new directions for a trusted ruleset that I enjoy quite a bit. The aim is to present suggestions for things like aerial combat and psionics as well as provide a framework to construct just about anything. Some of the work already in progress includes a universal vehicle creation system, a race/class creation system and a cornucopia of random generators. Other ideas include introducing a d20 style wizard/sorcerer dichotomy with psionic characters, creating tactical and anime style mecha, clockwork systems and lots of setting examples.
To provide a good idea of where this series is going, here is an example mecha. This mecha is intended for a more tactical style of play common in FASA games. It is a product of the universal vehicle creation system.
Reloxus
Standard Class Mecha
Movement: 6 hexes or 900′ (300′)
Armor Class: 2
Hull Points: 960
Attacks: 5*
Damage: See below
Cost: 1,761,300 Cr
Weapons Range (hexes) Damage
Mark VII Laser Cannon 20 4-32
175mm Mass Driver 15 7-70
75mm Mass Driver 15 2-24
LR Swarm-10 Missile Battery 10 4-40
SR Cloud-12 Mortar Cluster 6 6-72
The Reloxus class mecha also comes equipped with a Mark III Sandcaster Anti-Missle Defense System that provides 40 points of missile damage reduction.
The Reloxus has set the bar for standard class mecha. It has a high level of shielding to protect against the heavier lasers of assault class mecha as well as a tremendous amount of missile attacks to quickly eliminate attacks from light class mecha. The Reloxus is an older design that does not feature newer types of weapons. Tests with innovative weapons systems have yielded negative effects.
