MECH WEEK: Systems

Exploring Apocalypse Frame, KILL ENGN, and Eldritch Automata — three mech games based on SRDs and/or third-party licenses

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This is part of Skeleton Code Machine MECH WEEK — a week of articles (and coloring contest) about mechs in tabletop games: Part 1 - Is Iron Man a Mech?, Part 2 - Heat, Part 3 - Combat, Part 4 - Pilots, Part 5 - Systems.

The final day of MECH WEEK! Here’s what we’ve looked at so far:

• Part 1: Is Iron Man a mech? (Plato’s Mech)

• Part 2: Heat (BattleTech)

• Part 3: Combat (Lancer)

• Part 4: Pilots (HOME: MECH x KAIJU)

There is still time to enter the Plato’s Mech coloring contest! Details can be found in Part 1 of the series. Winners will receive free download keys for Make Your Own One-Page Roleplaying Game from Skeleton Code Machine.

Today we aren’t just looking at a single game, but rather we are looking at five different mech games. Each one of them is an example of how a system reference document or open license can be used to make a mech game.

If you’ve ever wanted to make your own mech-based TTRPG but the idea of creating a system from scratch seems daunting, this is the article for you.

System reference documents

I’ve written before about how MÖRK BORG has a generous third-party license that allows creators to make “compatible with MÖRK BORG” content.¹ This license covers the rules and many elements of the setting, which has generated a boom of new adventures, dungeons, classes, as well as card games and an upcoming video game.

Other publishers have released documents that contain all of a game’s rules, mechanisms, and design guidelines for creating similar games. These documents are commonly called System Reference Documents (SRDs).² They might be as simple as just the mechanical rules of the game, or they might include designer’s notes and tips on how handle thematic elements.

Many of these SRDs and open, third-party licenses allow for commercial use of the new product. This means you can grab an SRD, make a new game, and sell it.³

Let’s explore five mech games that are based on SRDs and/or third-party licenses:

Three mech games that use SRDs

There are, of course, countless examples of mech games that use SRDs or third-party licenses for their core system. The following games have each caught my attention either for their thematic changes or mechanical innovations while using an existing system.

1. Apocalypse Frame

System: LUMEN by Gila RPGs

Apocalypse Frame (AF) by Binary Star Games is a mech game influenced by Armored Core and BattleTech. Set in the far future, players become pilots of customizable mechs (light, medium, and heavy frames) fighting against an oppressive regime. It’s based on LUMEN, an SRD and design guide by Gila RPGs made specifically for “telling the stories of powerful characters” in combat-focused games — a good fit for mechs.⁴

AF changes the Force, Flow, Focus attributes of LUMEN to Drive, Speed, and Control.⁵ Where LUMEN uses a mapless far-close-near system for combat, AF recommends a 2” hex map. Range still has bands, but now each one (Close, Near, Far, Extreme) has an associated distance in hexes as well. This hex-based combat, detailed frame damage (e.g. leg hits), cover, attacks based on armament vs. attributes, and highly customizable mechs brings the system closer to Lancer.

Interestingly, Binary Star Games has created a third-party license called Framed by the Apocalypse that allows creators to make content based on Apocalypse Frame. It’s licenses all the way down!

2. KILL ENGN

System: MÖRK BORG by Stockholm Kartell

KILL ENGN (KILL ENGINE) is a compatible with CY_BORG supplement for building and fighting with mechs.⁶ It uses an interesting slot system to create mechs that act almost as character overlays on top of existing player characters. Each mech has stats such as Strength, Agility, Toughness, but also Arms, Weapons, Legs, and Utilities. They can be customized with different cockpits (e.g. "rusty cage” or “Mancer 3030”), power cores, mobility (e.g. “biometric tendons”), arms, utilities, armor, and weapons. Each mech also gets a fault such as “faulty sensors” or “fluid leaks” which makes sense in a dark MÖRK BORG world.

KILL ENGN doesn’t change the rules of CY_BORG as much as you might expect. Instead, the supplement is focused on maximum customizability. Allowing players to make a unique mech, but staying largely within in the existing rules framework.

I recently asked UnitSix (one of the designers) how KILL ENGN departs from the MÖRK BORG system and I really appreciated his answer. In addition to pointing out how secondary actions allow for combos and the slot-based system, he said:

Speaking of rules though, I think one of the biggest strengths is how it’s not really adding too much to rules, so it still feels like the same game, really like a proper add on. So players and GMs can keep their Cy campaign going, now with mechs

I think there’s an important lesson here for designers. It’s great to modify systems, but when people pick up a game that says “Compatible with X” on the front, they are approaching it with expectations. They would expect to have a system that, while it may contain changes, retains the core familiarity of the original. That’s one of the player promises the game is making.

3. Eldritch Automata

System: Year Zero Engine by Fria Ligan AB

Eldritch Automata (EA) from Gehenna Gaming is inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion, Pacific Rim, and Escaflowne. Players defend humanity, “facing down eldritch abominations that want to eat you, controlled by visually perfect angelic beings that want to control you, while piloting a massive monstrosity of a mech, the titular Automata, that’s slowly killing you.”

EA is built using the Year Zero Engine (SRD) from Fria Ligan (Free League).⁷ The system is designed to be accessible, fast/decisive, and to support risks and rewards. It includes a system to “push” your roll (re-rolling the dice) but at a cost.⁸ There are two different dice systems supported (d6 dice and polyhedral dice). In the d6 dice pool version players roll their dice pool and count all 6s as successes with additional successes resulting in bonuses.

Pushing rolls in EA results in accumulating more stress. Stress adds dice to rolls and increases the chance of success, but also the chance of rolling a 1 — resulting in a panic roll. Panic can cause anything from trembling and reduced agility, losing some actions, or entering a berserk state. In some ways, it is similar to the stress and panic checks in Mothership.

Combat is more tactical, using initiative, slow actions (e.g. “shoot ranged weapon”), and fast actions (e.g. “draw weapon”). The addition of ego fields is an interesting one:

All Automata have an Ego Field, a manifestation of the Pilot and Automata’s will. This Ego Field creates an almost insurmountable defense that only Horrors and Seraphs can pierce. Horrors and Seraphs have their own Ego Fields as well, which operate by the same mechanics. An Ego Field must be pierced and depleted before any damage can be done to the Automata. Ego Fields serve as an initial damage threshold that must be surpassed in order to inflict damage.

This ties back to stress and panic because one of the effects of panic is a reduction in ego. If your ego field is reduced to zero, even normal human weapons will damage your mech.

Eldritch Automata is a great example of how the Year Zero Engine is a flexible system. It’s the same system used in Forbidden Lands, Vaesen, Mutant: Year Zero, Alien: The Roleplaying Game, Tales from the Loop, and Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game.

Conclusion

Some things to think about:

• Consider using an SRD: You don’t need to start from scratch when designing a new game, especially if it is a tabletop roleplaying game. The available systems range from a simple third-party license used for KILL ENGN all the way up to the comprehensive YZE SRD used in Eldritch Automata.

• Make it your own: In most cases you can modify the system as much as you’d like. It’s fun to add mechanisms and streamline things, but remember the player promises you make along the way. If players expect a system they already know, they might be disappointed to find something unrecognizable.

• Not just for TTRPGs: System reference documents and third-party content licenses are now an important part of TTRPG design, but I think there is a place for them in tabletop board games as well. The way MÖRK BORG content has branched out into card games is an interesting development to watch.

Ready to pilot a mech? Which game based on an existing SRD do you most want to try and/or play?

— E.P. 💀

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1. CY_BORG, the cyberpunk off-shoot of MÖRK BORG, has a very similar license for creating content that is compatible with CY_BORG.

2. The SRD name is popular probably because that’s what Wizards of the Coast called their document to be used with the Open Gaming License (OGL) to make content for Dungeons & Dragons. I’m not a lawyer or an OGL expert, but there has been a lot of discussion around that in the last few years.

3. Every license is different. Some are more complicated than others. Be sure to read any license in full and follow any terms and restrictions.

4. LUMEN is also used for NOVA from Gila RPGs. I’m not considering NOVA a mech game based on the publisher’s description: “The players will pilot exosuits, called Sparks, exploring the dark ruins of old earth, searching for the technology and knowledge that may just bring on a new dawn.” Exosuits don’t qualify as mechs (e.g. Iron Man).

5. I recommend the Apocalypse Frame “Commentary Edition” which includes some designer’s notes almost like a DVD Director’s Commentary. Regarding the attributes: “My thought with the Force/Flow/Focus stand-ins was “things that you might use to describe a mech or how well it handles”. Which isn’t too far off from like, a car or something! High horsepower, high max speed, responsive controls.

6. UnitSix provided Skeleton Code Machine with a review copy of KILL ENGN.

7. The Year Zero Engine (YZE) seems really interesting and well made, but it doesn’t seem to have wide third-party use and acceptance. If you are familiar with YZE games or are working on one, please leave a comment and let me know!

8. I love push-your-luck and re-roll at a cost systems. For a great example, check out the Trophy Dark and mitigating luck article.