Mecha World: A Mecha RPG Powered by the Apocalypse (PEACH)

[Quality]

Hey, this is really excellent stuff! Clear and to the point -- and I like that it's inclusive of both experienced players and newbs. It's probably the most succinct explanation of how PbtA works that I've seen. i'd offer constructive criticism if i had any but I think you nailed it.

Reading it makes me realize a couple of things that would also be good inclusions: For one, where do you stand these days on doing a section about conflict resolution in non-combat scenes? i think you lay most of the groundwork for it in this introduction, (eg by broadly defining how conflict resolution works) but i'd still be into seeing a section that addresses contested actions not covered by the basic moves.

Also, i think more GM-facing material would be cool. I think new players (or Narrators in this case) confronted with creating a setting and story from scratch might be paralyzed by having limitless options. Maybe some suggestions about how the group can go about brainstorming their own anime "series" would be cool, or how to create an original story arc for an existing series (if that's what they're doing). And how a Narrator who's gun shy about improvising story hooks can use these collected ideas to make an "adventure module."

of course i'm not talking about a traditional pre-planned gaming adventure, but just the beginnings of something like that, the outcomes of course to be "left blank" to see where the players take it. Maybe also some advice about framing individual scenes, like how to decide what each scene is about and who's in it. There may not be a "win state" but narratively speaking what's the objective of a given scene (even if it winds up deviating from that)? who decides that? (you emphasized the idea of "consesus" in your how-to-play section and i think it certainly applies here, too, but it might be useful to spell it out somehow.)

I like the idea of maybe introducing a "series creation" questionnaire or worksheet that prompts the group with questions like "what time period is this set in?" "are all the characters human?" "what's the most important large-scale threat that exists in this world?" "who are the most famous people in this world?" "where do the characters live?" "what are the mecha like?" "why is each of the PCs in the story?" and about a dozen other questions I can think of offhand... just prompts to help get people started. This could cover some of the ground that's addressed with the Hx/Bonds systems in other PbtA games.

I would say it's possible to overdo this kind of thing, though. Like looking back at Apocalypse World, the idea of Threats is really useful but organizing them into Fronts (as described, anyway) seems to be something that confused a lot of people. I saw a lot of people on forums asking for an explanation of that system, and Baker seems to have dropped it from the second edition & replaced it with some other mechanic for tying Threats together. I read a (very positive) review of AW that described the GMing section as "overly legislative" and perhaps the glove fits. So I'm not advocating a bunch of rules about how you have to design story elements so much as tips about how to get over the initial hump of starting the story off.

The most helpful strategy for this kind of thing, to my mind, would be to include lots of examples of play (whether they're hypothetical, or drawn from actual play). Especially for the Narrator/GM moves, where you could have an example of what each move might look like in the context of an actual story. But also broader examples, like how a hypothetical Narrator goes about thinking up a bunch of NPCs to play around with, without knowing where they'll pop up. Or examples of the group hitting a creative wall & somebody coming up with a clever plot-twist that gets things moving again, by like referring back to some already-established content (say bringing back a forgotten NPC in an unexpected new role, or whatever). I've always felt like these kind of examples really set good RPG texts apart if for no other reason than that there's no better way to learn a new game than "watching" somebody else play it (short of actually playing it with them, anyway). I notice you used an example of a player move (with the character Kira) and it instantly drew me in to the text, being able to picture that exact moment in the game. I definitely think the complete text could benefit from as many of these kinds of examples as you're willing to include.

I'm also a big fan of this convention in Japanese trpgs where there are randomizing tables for all kinds of plot elements: random encounters, random plot twists, random characters, random settings, random relationships, random missions, etc. They're great to rely on when the group gets stuck, or when the GM just needs a shot of inspiration.

I'm aware this technique is more common with games that have a defined setting, but I believe there are a few ways to make it more about the genre generally than about any specific world. Like some of the tables could just have different anime tropes specific to the mecha genre, or just general fiction tropes, and you can draw from those if you like. like a table where a couple of entries would be "biomechanical monstrosity," or "estranged lover" or "amazing new prototype" or "political subtrefuge" or "your forgotten rival returns" or "the gang incurs an unwanted debt" or "thousands of insectoid aliens" or "your group is struggling with bad PR they don't deserve" or "you suspect your mecha might be haunted" or whatever (maybe those examples would come from a handful of different tables instead of a single one, but that whole idea...).

Even in some setting-specific Japanese rpgs, there are tables like this that could be lifted out and dropped into almost any game. I forget if it's Alshard or Sword World, but one of those (Japanese) games has this thing called the "Emotion Matrix" that you roll on to determine how your character feels about any minor NPC when they first meet them. It's a d66 table, meaning you roll a d6 for the x axis and another for the y axis and it gives you one of 36 results, from which the player can budge by some number of spaces if they want a different one. Results like "disgusted" or "you have a crush on them" or "you remember them from somewhere" or "you don't trust their motives" or whatever (not actual examples btw). It's a fun mechanic, but it's also something you can easily ignore if it feels too contrived or restrictive in a particular situation (really any situation in which your group has better ideas). But i think this kind of thing adds a lot of "value" since the text has already got story hooks baked into it.

Anyway, sorry for another typically overzealous response. The takeaway is that your new section looks great!

[Amaril]

Thanks for taking a look! The whole section about resolution outside missions is still forthcoming, I just thought I'd post what I had so far.

I might look at including some suggestions for world creation down the road, or at least some prompting questions, but for now I think I should stay focused on what's necessary to play the game. Also, my assumption so far has been that this game will primarily be played by fans of the mecha genre, who will already have source material they like available to draw from.

[Fri]

On series questionaire, amusingly, I created a mecha plot generator once for silliness

http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=02cKvQh3

http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=jQ3USyT6

[Quality]

Amaril, sound like you've got a good plan as far focusing on the essentials of the game first. Definitely looking forward to reading your upcoming content!

Also I think you're right that mostly well-versed fans will be attracted to this game and, sure, I'd assume they'll have plenty of material to draw on. Maybe I just need to watch more mecha series... Questionnaire still sounds like a fun "extra," anyway.

[Quality]

Fri, your mecha plot generators are hilarious (in the good sense, I mean). I'm not able to identify every show that you're drawing from, but i generated a bunch of them for fun and there were some great ideas in there. Some of my favorites were the setting being "a boring ocean republic," or the rival being a "tragic monster," or the mecha having come from "a mysterious girl," or being "full of weapons, but slowly drives the pilot insane." Also one of the plot twists being that a mysterious, friendly alien professes their love for the protagonist. I also liked having separate results for tone and genre -- makes total sense. (I tried both generators but I guess you can tell which one was my favorite...)

Doing a generator like this to set up the premise of a game scenario would be awesome. Even if it's just a pick-list or a sequence of random-roll tables, I think stuff like this is a great addition to any game.

[neandrew]

Hi & hello,

I came across Mecha World some time ago, since then the group I play with had a great deal of fun playing 2 sessions.
We have some experience with PbtA (Urban Shadows, Monster Hearts, The Sprawl, Dungeon Worlds and some others), and really like Mecha Worlds.

We even came up with some rules for when the players go out of their Mecha:

OoMm: Out of (your) Mecha moves:

Spoiler: Skill

Show

Skill
mecha piloting, mecha melee
OoMm: when you SHOW OFF to attract attention
(for tactical reasons or to turn someone on, ...)
10+ they (re)act as you intended
7-9 you get their attention, but with a higher level of scrutiny
then anticipated or wanted. Take -1 forward against them, they are
keeping a critical eye on you.
6&- You choose:
* you either got their attention, but botched your stunt, badly.
* flawless failure, your stunt succeeded, but they either did
not notice or did not care.

Spoiler: Intellect

Show

Intellect
mecha shooting, tactical overview
OoMm: when you AIM TO HURT someone (physically, emotionally, mentally),
to shut them down or to stop a fight before it starts.
(if physical bullying, this covers your first move before the target resists,
if it escalates to a fight: see resolve)
10+ they are devastated, you choose how they react (see list)
7-9 you achieve your goal, the GM choses how they react:
* they flee from you
* they shut down (defensive posture, eyes wide, stutter, ...)
* they lash out uncontrolled
6&- they stand their ground and they may choose to escalate.

Spoiler: Discipline

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Discipline
keeping cool, not losing your sh*t
OoMm: when you ACT ON ORDERS
State whether you do or do not trust the orders (or the person giving them).
10+ If you trusted the orders all 3 from the list apply.
If you did not: choose 2.
7-9 choose 2 from the list
* you are able to execute the orders to the letter
* your action has the intended effect
* no immediate complications arise
6&- If you did not trust the orders, you can still choose
"no complications arrise" from the list.

Spoiler: Awareness

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Awareness
helping friends, spotting trouble in the moment
OoMm: when ARE IN NEED of someone or something
(emotional support, the right tool for the job)
10+ A friendly face shows up with just the right thing
7-9 someone helps you, but you feel obligated to help in return, now or later.
Take -1 ongoing to this move until you've received their thanks.
6&- Through force of will you get yourself/the thing you need together,
but it exhausts you. Take -1 ongoing (to all moves) until you/it
break(s) down again.

Spoiler: Resolve

Show

Resolve
not dying, face overwhelming odds
OoMm: when you ACT DESPITE FEAR or danger (incl melee fights)
10+ you get control of the situation before anything really bad happens.
7-9 choose one:
* you avoid or stop the immediate effect of what you feared, for now.
* the bad things happen, but you get control of the situation afterwards
6&- what you wanted to avoid (or worse things) comes to pass.

As you can see the moves related to Discipline and Awareness are kind of inversed, but that felt right for the goal of facilitating drama.

I would love to hear your thoughts, comments & feedback!