The Past

One billion dead. Cities sundered. Nations collapsed. Humanity shattered. The Revolution stole so much – as the people Luna rose up against their masters on Earth, they began the war that changed everything. For the sake of ‘freedom’, the revolutionaries incited the collapse of the nation states that supported ATLAS. For the sake of ‘justice’, the colonies of mankind sent millions of their sons and daughters to their deaths. And for the sake of ‘revenge’, the Earth was bombarded by Relativistic Kill Vehicles, forever scarring the surface of man’s home.

The Present

Two generations later, the people of Earth, Luna, Mars, and Jupiter, under the interplanetary government known as the Union, have slowly regained some of what was lost. Due to the environmental damage sustained during the Lunar Revolution, Earth’s population now resides primarily in Megacities – huge arcology structures designed to be almost completely self-sufficient. Those who live offworld work to gather the resources required to sustain interplanetary society. And even after such devastation, war continued unabated…dominated by the Armored Personnel Unit.

The Machines

The APU, a four metre humanoid war machine created during the Revolution, forms the core of modern armored warfare. Capable of combat both on land and in space, the APU’s fusion engines allow it speed and agility unmatched by any terrestrial combat machine of the Common Era. Used by militaries, police forces, and guerrillas alike, Union APUs fight alongside both standard and Variable Tanks, nimble Guardian hovercycles, and highly trained infantry Troopers…their opposite numbers flanked by combat motorcycles, scratch-built Chickenwalkers, and four-legged gun-carrying Sportwalkers!

The Setup

Ten years ago, during the Last Colonial War, a new type of APU was developed, known as the Modular APU. With the ability to exchange different parts to optimize a machine’s combat potential, the Modular APU prototype was piloted by an unknown soldier of immense skill. For its appearance as a standard APU-03 ‘Magus’ unit and the cobalt blue color sported on its frame, the machine – and its pilot – became known as the Blue Magus, a legend on the battlefield respected by friend and foe alike. And at the end of the war, the Blue Magus, alongside several other pilots from the war, declared herself independent from nations, armies, and corporations, with total control over her own strength – becoming a new kind of mercenary, a new breed of soldier.

The Punchline

The year is Lunar Reckoning 69. Today, war lives on, just as it has throughout history. But there is a new force on the modern battlefield – those who have followed the example of the Blue Magus, using Modular APU technology to create a machine for them alone…those who have taken on their own callsign, their own colors, to make themselves a symbol for others to rally around and admire, entirely apart from the traditional institutions of power.

The Blue Magus was the first of them, but she will not be the last.

In her honor, they are known as Mages.