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....?

Nope.
As a meta plot its hard to intertwine with others.

Yes.

They were never a popular villain, though, for some reason.
Too deadly and alien, I guess.

As an isolated plot device they're useful, but only so long as encounters are limited.

The Mechanoids are simply too overwhelmingly numerous to place in any setting except possibly Phase World/The Three Galaxies.

Yes, PC (unknownly joined ARCHIE 3 rangs) to stop the Mechanoid invasion.

Yes. They're a fun villain to introduce.

Yes, I ran that little mini-campaign years ago.

One of my pbp players is up against a small band of Mechanoids who came to earth early (rifted like Sundance). There are only ten of them so they are trying to make a manufacturing facility to reproduce outside of Houstown but they can't help but kill everyone when they get a component. It's sort of a murder mystery but it'll give her an edge in dealing with them when ARCHIE rifts them in by accident in a couple years (currently playing 100 PA)

I created the ultimate munchkin character a greater norse giant reaver assassin with the yggdrasil gift of knowledge. had an autododge, supernatural strength 70 something, over 18000mdc(yes thats 3 zeroes) and temporal magic up at a 5th level of power. Didn't stand a chance against these things. bio reg/d4x100 per minute, impervious fire and heat all types, crazy combat bonuses, change size 6-40 feet, and was promptly curb stomped! you can't beat these things, there is just to many.

The first Rifts campaign I ever played in was against these guys, as per SB2. It was a fun time. All the games I've been in since have been set a year or more later than when this plot occurs so they've already been taken care of and no longer factor into things.

Yeppers...in fact I have the Mechies as the thing that came out of the Xerxes Beta annomaly (Phaseworld; 3-Galaxies).
I've also "upgraded" some of them with new toys.
Due to pathelogical paranoia of modifications and ( )conversions by the mangement, I can't say HOW I've given these guys a boost.

Trust me though, they'd give the Infernals & Hades-spawn a run for their money in the minion war.

Mechie Overlord; "COME BACK BIPED PARANORMAL HELL-SPAWN. WE WISH TO INFLICT SCIENCE UPON YOU...WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE."

Wasps, Runts, and Thin Men are awesome to use. The rest...eh.

I ran a game where the Mechanoids were a major problem for Rifts Earth...it lasted many sessions, the players didn't want to get involved, instead they were greedy jerkfaces robbing refugees (not the ones post battle...there are never any of those...these are people who fled preemptively), stealing tech from abandoned areas and generally being opportunists. They would even take in folks who were lost (rob/rape/kill). Even when i tried to involve them through this sort of hooliganry, they still refused, eventually fled toward the Rockies, but where killed by the Coalition in a quite honestly random enounter.

DhAkael wrote:Yeppers...in fact I have the Mechies as the thing that came out of the Xerxes Beta annomaly (Phaseworld; 3-Galaxies).
I've also "upgraded" some of them with new toys.
Due to pathelogical paranoia of modifications and ( )conversions by the mangement, I can't say HOW I've given these guys a boost.

Trust me though, they'd give the Infernals & Hades-spawn a run for their money in the minion war.

Mechie Overlord; "COME BACK BIPED PARANORMAL HELL-SPAWN. WE WISH TO INFLICT SCIENCE UPON YOU...WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE."

Awesome and the last part

Lost Seraph wrote:Sweet! Phoenix Force Alpha is going there immediately! Warp factor 38 to the anomaly, stat!

A powerful norse giant hangs his head solemnly "Good luck brave adventurers my the might of ALL the gods be with you" and promptly orders several more shots to stop the visible shaking at the mere mention of mechanoids.

Lost Seraph wrote:Sweet! Phoenix Force Alpha is going there immediately! Warp factor 38 to the anomaly, stat!

Well, we have other things to tackle first Seraph, but yeah that would be fun!

On the note of the Mechanoids and their Sourcebook 2 introduction, when using them (or not) does anyone introduce ARCHIE and Hagan, and if so, (excuse the phrase) but how far down the rabbit hole do you go?

Eashamahel wrote:On the note of the Mechanoids and their Sourcebook 2 introduction, when using them (or not) does anyone introduce ARCHIE and Hagan, and if so, (excuse the phrase) but how far down the rabbit hole do you go?

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!"
That explain how far?

I think the Mechanoids are better used as a recurring/random encounter than the big plot from the Sourcebook. They make for a decent side, one-shot adventure.

The PC's are passing through town in-search of (whatever--main adventure stuff)... the locals report seeing a half-dozen strange robots nearby that kill everyone they see. The PC's investigate. Tracking / counter-tracking / mild destruction ensues. The GM background would be it was either a scouting group from the Archie/Mechanoid force, or it was just a small group who popped out of a Rift. Then the PC's can go back to the main adventure.... until it happens again.

I also had an idea for the PC's to find a Runt robot who's passed out from a ley line storm. When the PC's come near it 'wakes up' with no memory and assumes the PC's are its master, and it then faithfully serves them. Fun ensues when local townsfolk react horribly to the little guy, or when the PC's learn about the little guy's makers.

I use the Mechanoids....along with The Manhunters and I use the rest of the Macross franchise (with some modifications) to create a large and entwined Robotech timeline..... beginning with the Mechanoids and going full circle back to the Mechanoids.

Yes, I loved using the Mechanoids. One of the first campaigns I ran revolved around them. I basically started the players with the original Archie adventure and near the end had it merge with the Mechanoids arrival. The players were hunting for Hegan in the Archie complex and were there when the Mechanoids arrived. The fought a few on their way out and ended up team up with Hegan to escape. He promptly roped them into helping him get rid of them.

After several sessions of hit and run tactics and fleeing under fire from larger encounters the group ran across remote recon CS command. They showed him the threat and he managed to bring in a CS battalion to destroy the main Mechanoid force. The player cooridinated with that attack and helped Archie and Hagen sweep the complex.

The players then spent some time hunting down smell splinter groups of Mechanoids. I even brought the story arch back a year later when the players discovered an splinter group they had missed. This group had built a small factory for Thinmen and was days from being able to clone wasps and runners. This group of Mechanoids was led by a brain and could have given the Mechanoids a foothold on Earth.

This was a long running and fun game. I have always loved the Mechanoids.