Heavy Gear

[Tom]

Hey everyone. This is the thread for our Heavy Gear game that's running at my place on Saturday nights.

I think everyone's starting to get the hang of the rules and that's making things a lot more fluid. We'll see how things work out when we get into combat again.

We 'downgraded' to 2nd edition's skill rules, which, I think, have made skill rolls a ton easier to perform and follow. With complexity out the window, it's pretty straightforward.

We're starting to scratch the surface of the multi-factional intrigue of Terra Nova. Hopefully, I'm not overwhelming anyone with information, but just to recap, I'll tell you what you know here:

Major Factions

The North and the South: The two major powers of the world are experiencing escalating tensions after the assassination of a prominent figure of the New Revisionist church. Combine this with ideological differences and the potential for open conflict is rapidly increasing with each passing day.

Port Arthur: A city, located in the Badlands, run by former Earthers from the failed invasion of Terra Nova approximately 15 years ago. The massive majority of citizens are GREL, genetically engineered super soldiers who were the main antagonists of the Alliance War. Your characters took technology from this faction during your first mission.

Peace River: Your home in the Badlands. The most influential city in the Badlands, founded by a massive military company, Paxton Arms, which supplies weapons to any and all buyers. As a result of Paxton Arms's monopoly, there seems to be strong separations between the rich and the poor, which is starting to raise tensions in the city.

Other Factions and Cities of Note

Peace River Liberation Army: The people who hired you. A force intent on liberating the masses of Peace River. Known to use both political and violent means to achieve their ends.

Peace River Security (or Peace River Police): The law enforcement agency of Peace River. Like any police force, members fall into different ethical areas.

Paxton Security: The private police agency that serves Paxton Arms alone. Known to be particularly brutal and efficient.

Massada: The holy city near Peace River. The holy place for the New Revisionist church and sacred ground where violence is not permitted.

Jan Mayen: A city located far in the badlands. Home to all sorts of shady business and black market activities.

Things mentioned in passing (other cultural stuff)

Mamoud: The prophet of the New Revisionist Church. Lived centuries ago and was responsible for bringing a period of great peace to the Badlands. His the effects of his visit, and subsequent pacification, of Massada, still reverberate to this day. Followers of the church pray and give blessings in his name.

The Sand Riders: A mysterious group of Terra Novans who somehow find a way to live in the acidic sands of the Great White Desert. A nomadic peoples.

NPCs

Tammy: Your chirpy and punky tech/computer friend. Works for Vokker Industries. In her late 20's/early 30's. Gregarious, free-willed and opinionated. Loves to wear big pilot goggles Pretty cute when she's not smeared in grease.

Brian Buntley: A hulking mass of man and muscle released from prison by Teelah and hired by the company to do manual chores. Seems to be somewhat slow and has a large scar that runs from the crown of his bald head to the back of his skull. Friendly enough. Seems to be at least in his late 30's, maybe in his 40's.

Frederick Vokker: Your boss. A practical and pragmatic person and veteran of the War of the Alliance. Tries to keep a level head during crisis, but has shown a sharp tongue. Can be imposing at times. In his late 40's.

Johnny: Your contact with the underworld in Peace River. Not much is known about him. Looks like he's in his 20s.

The Union Leader???: A slightly overweight but well-kept man with bad fashion sense. Was saved from an apparent assassination attempt. Wants information about Paxton Security. Middle aged.

The secretary (Samantha): Your company secretary. Cheerful and efficient. Middle aged.

The Artificial Intelligence (Whose name loves to change): One of six sentient PCs held within the container you retrieved during the mission. Bonded to Roman and is currently installed in his gear. Is helpful, but information surrounding its creators and background is classified. Was found out to be able to remotely connect with, and hack computer systems.

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Okie dokie. That should cover most of the background info so far. Now I'd like to hear some of your opinions on how the game is running. Anything you'd like to share is welcome, and I try to accommodate my players whenever possible. Again, I want to stress having fun and being part of a rich game world, so anything that you think can contribute to that vision would be great.

We didn't have any combat last game. Is this a problem for anyone? I admit that characterization is something I really want to focus on, but if it's at a detriment, I can happily make modifications. I feel that we made some real progress this last session in really getting a feel for the characters and I had a ton of fun running it.

So, yeah. Any opinions/input?

[Miggy Smallz]

Okay, decided on a contact--

I want a middle-aged sort of man, who my character was once involved with, at age 12 (just as she left her home and trying to survive on her own).

He's independently wealthy for someone on the criminal side of the law, but doesnt get his hands dirty directly. He is an arms dealer, and from time to time will send over defunct but repairable weapons-- both gear and personal sized. Occasionally he asks me for favors, for things to do for him, or be intimate with (he likely still has a crush or something). He will provide me with a personal- and gear-sized damascus butterfly blade.

The blade itself is the length of my torso (1.25 meters) with a butterfly knife-style sheath that also folds into a spear/lance haft (for personal size) or a grip (for gear size).

POWER 33%
INFORMATION 12%
SUPPLIES 55%

[Miggy Smallz]

I think the police segment counted as combat. I want to stress that I'm having sUGAR-tons of fun with my character, but without a whole lot of conflict, it felt like a lot of WORDS WORDS WORDS and plot-building without the chance of making us work together. I dunno, the reader/writer in me wants to see things come to a head, to a culmination, and to resolve things before another thread starts up or evolves yet again. Although I totally loved it, Mike's Thief game did the same thing, and he even admitted that it was tough tracking all the viable plothooks and also advancing them when we weren't looking.

I feel we've got enough steam built up with all of the plot hooks from this last session to get into some really good, proactive adventuring next game. First thing I'm doing next game is turning on my AI and naming it Alita (the comic/character who wields the damascus blade I'd been mentioning. Here's her with her first damascus blade, which flips out from the hinge at her wrist: