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New Campain... need help.

Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 3:59 am
by Shadow Wyrm
I am going to be running a Invid Invation campain soon and I need some help.

I have never run Robotech before and, I would like to know if anybody has some hepful tips on running a good campain in this setting.

Any general rules that the books don't cover or maybe some house rules that have worked in other campains.

Any and all help would be helpful.

Re: New Campain... need help.

Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 6:30 am
by The Artist Formerly
Shadow Wyrm wrote:I am going to be running a Invid Invation campain soon and I need some help.

I have never run Robotech before and, I would like to know if anybody has some hepful tips on running a good campain in this setting.

Any general rules that the books don't cover or maybe some house rules that have worked in other campains.

Any and all help would be helpful.


First, whip up a cheat sheet of combat info. MDC of the various Invid, "to hit" number for called shots against the eye, damage rankings of the most common weapons, and the range of the Invid sensor. 20 first names for NPC characters who the PCs might run into, 20 last names. Of course these names need to be region spesific. A few details of important sites, cities and other locals of intrest. A breif idea of trade goods that the area can support, what they make, what they can trade for, that kind of thing.

There are a whole bunch of tables in the back of Invid Invasion, in the random encounter section, that can help you fill in those sections. For example, I always pregenerate some static encounters for when the PCs go "off the map" in reguards to my adventure. Which they have an annoying tendancy to do. So if they ignore or miss a plot clue or just decide to leave the current story line, I'm not totally off guard. To that end, pregenerate the "Human Gang" in the random encounter section (page 108,40-45) and the High tech bandits (page 108, 74-78). That way, antagonists, trading partners or allies are only a flip through my note book away. Make sure that you name the leaders, second in command, the goofy misfit of the gang, and the group's cook (or something/someone similar). It may sound silly, but having a few details that seem totally meaningless adds a lot of flavor to your game. Some unusal terrain, a blast crater from the Zents, the remains of a RDF/ASC base, a chunk of Master's mother ship, a colapsed invid Gensis Pit, something that will make for a good adventuring site is another good thing to generate ahead of the game.

To help make sure that your game runs smoothly, the best thing you can do is make sure that you have combat down. Palladium combat is slow and unweildly, so you the GM have to have that aspect down pat. Make sure you can nail combat, and you'll have a more fulid game, and you'll save time for other aspects of game play.

If you can make with the details on the "where and when and who" of your game location, I can help you with more details and game ideas.

Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 1:29 pm
by Ice Dragon
Invid Invasion campain can be fun. I would start with Mars Division's attack and give your players (esp. Veritech fighter pilots a hard time to survive). Escort the troop transport (aka Horizant Drop shuttle) to earth.

Fight to find their way to Reflex Point (start somewhere in Africa or Asia).

Opponents: Invids, sympiziers, bandits, flora and fauna, etc., Stage 5 Invids at later times, love affairs, lack of protoculture, etc.

Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 9:37 pm
by The Artist Formerly
Major Fury wrote:Taffy pretty much nailed it, with Invid Invasion you have to have pregenerated elements and be able to switch ideas on the fly. PCs in that setting more than any other have more freedom of choice as they're not taking orders from command and as a result face no penalty for disobeying. Also advise the players that taking some of the more domestic skills such as cooking and sewing are going to be vitile to their survival if they want clothing that isn't torn or simply want to eat. Also hunting and fishing skills would be good for players to take for the same reasons. Hunting will supply food as well as materials in which to cloth oneself and fishing will provide food and depending on the fish caught possibly needles for sewing with. Using this guideline go through all the wilderness skills and domestic skills and make a list for the players and make it mandatory for the characters to take some of those skills at the time of character creation. You may want to give each character 4-5 secondary skills that are used to purchase said skills but don't receive a bonus.


I would respectfully disagree with the Major on this point. He is correct in that those skills are vital for such things, how ever, telling the PCs that before hand dimishes the "culture shock" value of such a RPGing experience. Value is to your game that you have an element that allows the PCs to identify with their characters. Just about everyone has had to walk some distance with a hole in one's sock. Amplify that feeling by 40 miles through a Invid infested char forest left over from the first robotech war and you add to the spice of the game a fair bit. Second, and more importantly it gives you more leverage on the PCs to *nudge* them towards plot devices set in villages and towns. PCs are extreamly clever at overcoming most supply issues. They'll run their VT on 8 cells instead of 16, go into a fire fight with only six rounds left for their H-90s and spend their last missiles on a parting shot against a RCB that is retreating even though they know it's futile. Yet very few will go into combat in the same pair of boxer shorts they've been wearing everyday for the last two months. Especially if you bring up the words "black mold". And if while the PCs are in town getting their laundry done, an adventure hook unfolds, who could blame the GM?

These kinds of sundry tasks, while mundane in nature, are just as valid a hook as needing a flux capsitor to keep your Hover Tank hovering. For food, water, SDC ammo, clothing and other basic supplies, the PCs will go into any town, village or freedom fighter trap without blinking an eye.

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 2:57 pm
by Daejiv
I was curious when is this so called robotech campaign going to
get started or if it has already i would like to know if i could join
the campaing if not just reply to this it would very appreciated

:-? ty

Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2004 4:36 pm
by Chronicle
being freedom fighters they would most likely be on the run spooiling the invid at every turn they get. Pretty much hit and run making their trail to Reflex point along with the rest of the freedom fighters. Just make sure you scare the players into believing they are gonna die in game about 3 out of 5 adventures. Keep the supense up like if the group splits up switch to the other group of players at a key or critical point to keep them on the edge.