In the works for some time, this Personal Skills update brings a storygaming touch to LR69‘s play pattern. This update will be in use at Game Summit, but more importantly, is free for all to read and use! This part of the system will always be freely available for use by anyone who wishes it, and for modification and redistribution at-will, under a Creative Commons licence.

This system also comes with a set of reference cards for printing, as an experiment in future character and weapon sheet concepts. If this concept proves popular, weapons, parts, and other mechanics may also be presented in a card-based format, perhaps even in anticipation of a print-based release.

In addition to the Personal Skills update, I have added an adventure preview of the Hull is Burning scenario, which will also be freely available; and Personal Skills sheets and bios for the five currently developed pregenerated characters.

• Personal Skills System
• Personal Skills System Quick Reference Cards
• Hull is Burning Adventure Preview
• Hull is Burning Character Bio Previews
• All PDFs in one .zip

As always, enjoy your time in the Lunar Reckoning,  and look forward to combat-related content and the full adventure!

This February 2nd and 3rd, Lunar Reckoning 69 will be at Game Summit! This event, now entering its fifth year, is run by UniForge Inc. and is taking place this year at the Palais des congrès de Gatineau, only a few minutes outside downtown Ottawa in Canada’s historic National Capital Region. This expansive event is being sponsored by the fantastic local store The Comic Book Shopppe, and has a wide variety of vendors and exhibitors to suit your roleplaying and other gaming needs, as well as a wide variety of games to enjoy, both larger scenarios and small pick-up games.

Plans for the demonstration include the standard five-character sample scenario, featuring both combat and non-combat challenges focusing on the Megacity that was once Canada’s capital. There will be a new skill system with a focus on storytelling and player agency, alongside a healthy respect for Murphy’s Law that is always creating new challenges for the players to meet. The combat system has been further refined, with a condition-based focus and a fully implemented tier-based Maneuver system. This is all based on our current prerelease version, under private testing and development, to be shown to the public for the first time at the Game Summit event.

Currently there is only one timeslot available for five players, taking place on Saturday the 2nd at 10 AM, running for four hours. There may be more timeslots if there is enough interest! Please sign up early for your chance to fight!

Left to right: APU-03 Magus, APU/T-01 Shooting Star, APU-01 Warrior, APU-02 Thief

For your enjoyment, I have a large collection of shots for three new APUs – the Thief, the Magus, and the Shooting Star! Also included in this post are several enemy unit concepts. All of it after the jump!

APU-02 Thief

APU-03 Magus

APU/T-01 Shooting Star

Other Concepts

The Unified Republic of Terra, Luna, Mars, and Jupiter

Let there be peace in the world.

Seven decades go, mankind narrowly averted its own extinction. Plutocrats fought against fanatics, in a war that stretched across the stars. When the founders of this great Union took on the solemn task of rebuilding what we had lost, they had hoped that mankind could one day cast off its legacy of destruction. That we could live in peace, together.

And yet, even with all our efforts, war continues to rage.

There are doubtless those listening who believe that peace cannot be achieved…at least, not by us. Our militaries are stretched thin. Our peacemaking efforts are ignored and rejected. Billions of our citizens work tirelessly to make Earth and the rest of the system a better place, but still there are those who don’t believe!

If there is anything you take away from this, tonight, it is that I implore you all – every human being listening – to believe. To believe in democratic system, in our constitution, in the Union. To believe that peace is not just possible, but reachable in our own lifetimes. To believe that we are at the turning point of a new era of prosperity for every of Earth.

And to those who reject us, those who wage war against us based on past spectres and misinformation and fear, I ask that you reconsider peace. Democracy is the answer, not war. If you harm the citizens of the Union, we will fight, but we work to end the war. Even now, our armed forces fight to defend the Megacities and our colonies, to keep the system safe for democracy and freedom for all, and our diplomats stand ready to meet with any opposing force willing to negotiate in good faith.

Peace is possible! Utopia is reachable! We have the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it! All we have to do is believe!

The GRS

Your life is a lie.

The Union would have us believe we live in an era of peace and prosperity. That universal peace can be achieved through force of arms. That they are the only hope for humanity’s future, one race under one system. That the era of nations is over, that their system ensures universal human rights for all the children of the Earth. That Oncari is the architect of the future, and most important of all…that Neucom is not our true master.

You sit here, at home, hooked into the Global Communication System, fed only the information that Neucom wants you to have. You believe that war and suffering will soon end, because Neucom doesn’t want you to know about war and suffering. You allow your entire life to be dictated by the GCS. You eat what they want you to eat, you watch what they want you to watch, you be what they want you to be – all while you believe that you are free.

Your life is a lie.

One billion souls live outside the Union’s Megacities. Our reasons are many, but we all share the scarred and fallow surface of the Earth. We are abandoned to warlords and gangs, called insurgents and terrorists, and you never question it. Neucom wants us in the Megacities, to be good little citizens, all part of their system of control.

Do we not have rights?! Do we not have the right to liberty, to survival? Do we not have the right to form our own nations? Do we not have the right to be protected from warlords and cartels, from exploitation? What makes us different?

Yes, we fight. We fight the Union, we fight Neucom, we fight all those who would seek to exploit us. We fight because no one else will fight for us! We fight so that we may see Neucom destroyed, so that we may reform old nations apart from the Union System. We have been abandoned to the Earth, left to die…but we will not fail.

Our time is coming. We fight Neucom’s Global Communication System with a system of our own. We are an alliance of political and paramilitary groups across the Earthsphere. We are protesters, we are politicians, we are nationalists, soldiers, and yes, terrorists. We are the Global Revolutionary System, and we are growing. And if this message resonates with you, if you wish to fight for our cause…we will accept you with open arms.

To all others, we say only this: We will fight. We will survive. We will prevail.

Long live the GRS!

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.

A successful run at CanGames has been completed, and more will be released in the near future. Teamwork and Maneuvers were the key to victory for the players in this scenario, which will be released alongside the full version of this booklet soon!

This booklet is designed to be printed as a duplex from ordinary 8.5×11 sheets, as will the GM’s booklet. The character sheets delve into specific rules for the weapons each player has, while the booklet provides the rules of play.

As stated before, the previous Beta will remain free, while new updates will be given to current playtesters for their campaigns, and the Quick Start will be available for download under a Creative Commons licence. Print on demand options are also a possibility! Stay tuned.

Well, that’s very simple. Lunar Reckoning 69 (abbreviated as LR69) is a mecha tabletop role-playing game. Which is a lot of words that are likely to look like gibberish to some of you, while others will be intimately familiar with them. We’ll start with the confused parts of the audience, while those of you who know some or all of this stuff should skim or skip things until ‘But I Already Know All That!’

What is ‘role-playing’?

Very simple! ‘Role-playing’ is pretending to be someone else. When a little kid pretends he’s a ninja, that’s role-playing. When you’re acting like a customer during job training, that’s role-playing. When you pretend to be a ten year old girl online, that’s role-playing…and really creepy. What the hell is up with that, anyway?

Some people may turn their noses up at this, but really, role-playing is very common these days. Normal, every-day people roleplay in videogames, over the Internet, or with their friends in the form of tabletop RPGs. It’s just damn fun. If you’ve ever thought of what it would be like to be a pirate, a caveman, or a fighter pilot, you’ve been a roleplayer.

What is ‘tabletop’?

In this context, it means a game you play on a table. It’s not really literal; you might well be playing it in a chat program or Skype or anything else. It’s a term meant to differentiate games designed to be played with dice and in-person from video game RPGs. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds, and what you lack in graphics and convenience, you more than make up with imagination and good times with your friends.

What is a ‘game’?

I really hope I don’t need to explain this one.

What is a ‘role-playing game’?

A lot of RPG books are going to choose this section to say something like ‘Imagine yourself in a world of magic and adventure’ and wax poetic about themselves and completely bore anyone who hasn’t been introduced to said concepts already. A lot of RPG books are going to beat around the bush around this subject, because there’s a big taboo about this hobby and a huge amount of people are just plain embarrassed about it. So let’s cut the bullshit and say what we really mean:

A tabletop RPG is playing pretend, but with rules.

There’s no shame in that. Or at least, there shouldn’t be. Forget the hype – RPGs can be as casual or as serious as you want them to be. Basically, someone takes on the role of the ‘Game Master’, who creates scenarios and the basics of the story, and everyone else is then a character in that story and helps choose the path it will go on. It’s a ‘game’, but the object isn’t to win or lose; rather, to advance the storyline and meet your goals. The rules for most RPGs include the use of dice, which introduces a random element that is (usually) outside the player’s control.

What the term ‘game’ really means is that there are rules about how you do things in a game. These rules vary from game to game. While there are a great deal of RPGs now that focus on the narrative actions of players in the rules, others – including LR69 – use them to model combat scenarios instead. You can have as much or as little narrative and actual ‘role-playing’ as you want. If you want to just kick some ass, you can do that. If you want to tell a story full of intrigue and danger, you can do that too. There’s no wrong way to play; the reason we have rules is because the chance of failure makes all your successes that much sweeter.

What is ‘Mecha’?

This one might be a tricky sell for some of you. Basically, ‘mechs’ or ‘mecha’ are robotic, and usually humanoid, armored fighting vehicles. They differ from modern AFVs by their use of legs rather than wheels or treads. They very widely in form, function, and even genre; a given title might imagine them as slow, plodding ‘walking tanks’ or as nimble machines with the maneuverability of a jet fighter; as mass production units barely taller than a human to unique ‘super robots’ hundreds or even thousands of metres in height; as the driving force behind a gritty, realistic war story or even simply a ‘wacky’ element in a goofy high-school comedy cartoon!

This is likely to lose a lot of you if you have no previous knowledge of this genre, so some examples are in order. The vast majority of you are likely familiar with The Transformers; though most mechs are piloted by a human and are not sentient robots, the size and build of the titular robots make them very good examples of the concept. Anime fans should be quite familiar with the concept, with legendary titles like the Gundam series; other cartoon fans might be more familiar with Robotech or Voltron. Tabletop gamers will likely think of the legendary BattleTech. In a similar vein, video game fans will think of the MechWarrior series based on BattleTech, though LR69 owes far more to the cult classic Armored Core titles.

It’s entirely likely that, if you’re the kind of person who plays tabletop RPGs or is intrigued by them, you’re familiar with mechs in some form, and probably enjoy at least one of the many titles which include them!

Mechs in LR69 specifically are small, most units being around a few metres tall at most, and incredibly nimble, using rocket booster engines or high speed wheels and motors to maintain very high speeds. They are mass-produced, being no more special than a tank or helicopter is today. The mechs players control are known as Armored Personnel Units (APUs), humanoid mechs around three and a half metres tall. Capable of combat in zero-g and terrestrial environments, APUs form the backbone of infantry forces across the solar system. Highly modular and customizable, players can play all kinds of roles, from high-speed featherweight melee fighters to highly armored hulks bristling with weaponry.

What do I Need to Play?

A bunch of six-sided dice, and this book. (Go raid your board games, or head to a hobby shop! At least three is recommended.) You might be wondering why I specified, but most RPGs use dice with more or less than six sides, ranging from 4 to 20 or even 100. The dice in this book will therefore be referred to as ‘d6′ – which means a six-sided die. If you see something like ’3d6′, that means to roll 3 six-sided dice. Higher is better! A calculator would also be helpful, too.

But I Already Know All That!

Then you’re a step ahead, and likely the one who bought the game and plans to run it. Congratulations, I’ve just told your new and possibly reticent players virtually everything they need to know! (Other than the rules and the particulars of this setting, of course.) So let’s tell you what you want to know before getting started.

LR69 uses only the d6 and does not require a battle map or miniatures. Combat is resolved with opposed 3d6 attack and evasion rolls, with separate damage rolls. Simple stuff. Here’s where it gets interesting: the battle order is neither static nor simultaneous, with each unit’s Initiative increasing every round as the battle continues. A unit’s Initiative becomes a resource and a key part of strategy. Not only does the battle order change each round, but Initiative is used for movement, and several attack types rely on or affect it. The difference between a high and low Initiative is the difference between life and death! Battles are fast and furious, while having a layer of strategy and a balance between skill and luck.

Character creation allows for a high degree of customization, while still being relatively simple to implement. Players choose between a variety of parts to form their basic build, and get a few bonuses to start. Every time they deploy they get more money for their unit! Players can enhance attributes with points, and get special abilities called Maneuvers which allow them to defend themselves and affect the flow of battle beyond the mere rolling of dice. Inexperienced characters have an edge beyond mere statistics, while experienced ones can perform nigh-impossible acts!

A basic skill system allows for greater variety and helps players get a handle on their character, giving a sense of purpose to their battles and helping them flesh out the world. As for that world, well…we’ll take it slow and easy. The next five paragraphs are likely more than enough to get everyone started…and to find their place as mercenaries and legends in a new age of warfare!

I’m Sold. Let’s Get Started.

All right! Then let me welcome you…to the Lunar Reckoning.

It’s confirmed! Lunar Reckoning 69 will be making an appearance at the Ottawa, Canada-based convention CanGames on May 20, 2012 in the 9 AM time slot. A four hour demonstration game for five players, this demo game will consist of an original adventure known as “Hull is Burning” – taking place in the Gatineau region of Quebec, players will get to test out different APU builds and get to experience a full range of tactical options, Personal Skill challenges, and enemy forces. New rules are being used for this demonstration, which include new build options and offensive and defensive capabilities.

With this announcement comes another. After the CanGames demo, a new Quick Start version of the game will be released! This will form a preview for the changes to come and be the primary method of release from now on. The old beta, currently available in the forums, will receive a few updates and remain freely available. As for the future, well…only time can tell, and future plans will have to remain a secret for the moment.

Don’t know about the game? Click the link below to find out more.

The year is Lunar Reckoning 69. Two generations after a war that sundered the Earth and killed a billion, humanity continues to wage war, using powerful mechanized combat machines to defend and spread their ideals. Players are elite pilots known as “Mages”, who pilot highly customized, 12-foot mechs known as “Armored Personnel Units” and use their skills to make their place in a world of massive governments, omnipresent corporations, and desperate revolutionaries.

LR69 requires no battle map or miniatures and uses exclusively six-sided dice. To represent the intensity of mechanized combat and the speed at which APUs and other units can travel with their fusion rocket engines, Initiative, normally only the order of battle in most games, becomes a resource – Initiative powers movement, close combat, guided missile weapons and even electronic warfare! A simple yet incredibly deep customization system allows for a variety of unit types, from fast-attack Offensive types all the way to radar-sporting Support types. Players gain special abilities known as Maneuvers, fire-and-forget skills which allow Mages to perform seemingly impossible feats.

As always, the old beta is in the forums, and those who come to the CanGames demo get a first look at a new adventure and new mechanics seen nowhere else.

PMC Horizon, Earth Division

It’s a hell of a world we live in.

It’s all the same story. Throughout history, people have proven that they’ll fuck one another over every single chance they get. Politicians will sacrifice their ideals for a few bucks. Great revolutionary leaders will become petty warlords and exploit the very people they sought to save. And worse than any of those are the people without even the pretense of good intentions, those who will set the world on fire just to watch it burn.

The greatest tragedies of our history happen because no one is willing to stand up for justice. And the greatest victories happen because someone takes that step – to stand against those who would do harm, no matter who they are. Government, revolutionary, corporation…all of them need constant reminders that they are beholden to the people! And more than that, someone needs to be there to do what no one else does, to save the world from itself.

Some people call us mercenaries. Some call us private security. Some call us assholes standing in the way of progress. But the truth is, we’re just heroes. We’re the last goddamned heroes in the system, those with no cause but justice for all mankind. Every last one of us, from the Mages that make up our front line and public image to the guys we hire to clean the latrine. No matter who you are, if you have the skills we need and the courage to face down giants, Horizon has a place for you.

You might be injured, you might be humiliated, you might even be arrested, but we guarantee that you’ll never, ever be bored.

The invitation is extended. You know who to call.

End transmission.

More information is coming regarding the future of Island Three Productions and Lunar Reckoning 69. Stay tuned.