Mini-Review: The Mecha Hack Mission Manual

So, full disclosure: I backed this on Kickstarter, and as such got access to various previews and early PDFs. This also means I was predisposed to like the product, as if the various blog articles on this game system didn't give it away. Here's a few thoughts on what they delivered.

 

The Mission Manual is probably best described as a chunky GM resource pack for the original rulebook. It's not mandatory in any real sense, but what it does offer are a means for you to run a campaign or one-shot with even greater ease. This is where the titular Missions come in, which are presented in a single page format for you to build from. These seem elegantly minimalist, but as these are obviously light in detail, I'd imagine this could be intimidating for a novice. On the other hand, the book spends a lot more time fleshing out its Lodestone Alpha setting so less prep work is needed. Overall? If you liked the basic rules, but for whatever reason you wanted more flesh on the bones, it does that job pretty well. Thus far, I've only tried one of these new Missions myself, and while a success, I've found copying the format of them to be unexpectedly useful in focusing my ideas. I'm also toying with the idea of running one of the sample campaigns once gaming in person becomes possible again. So, yes. I have decided post a review despite not fully exploring the product. Please don't hold it against me.

More immediately interesting though are the expanded character creation rules. These were previewed, and ended up being used in several oneshots I ran, and I've found them handy if overly specific in places. The Vet and Merc feel like they've always been there, but the Hybrid and Pariah are homaging something more definite and such aren't as adaptable. I'm not sure what the Bionic is referencing, and along with the Vanguard & Auxiliary, it seems to be a logical outgrowth of game mechanics. As we have 64 possible character combinations, new modules, and new weapon qualities, we can now run games of 5+ players without doubling up on something. Which is nice. These are labelled as optional rules, and TBH a lot of the stuff in that section does feel that way. There's many good tools here, possibly too many, if I were to nitpick. Maybe it's because I'd already worked out my own solutions to some of the problems they solve. The combiner rules lack oomph, and function like a party standing really close together. I'd treated such things as having their own statblock, although I never got around to posting it here. That said, the rules for space-fighters and aerial combat would have been useful to have earlier.

One observation I would make is that the new list of enemies seem nastier than rulebook foes of a similar level, and more complicated. This lines up with the experience I've had with running games, as players tend to walk through combat until they hit something obviously overwhelming. As I've aimed for cinematic rather than tactical combat, this hasn't been problem really, but it might be something to consider. The big change is the addition of Swarm mecha, a way to further abstract combat with multiple combatants. This largely replaces individual HP with a degrading dice mechanic, and I've been wanting to playtest it aggressively. While this does not look to be suitable for map-based combats, this definitely is handy as a time saver and as a genre tool. I would however lean towards a blob of simple mecha rather than mixing units.

In summary: a useful expansion pack to an already good game. Not essential, but I would not be surprised at all if this became a compilation or the basis of a 2^nd edition.