Limitless Mecha Possibilities!

Big Robots, Cool Starships is the multi-genre mecha design and combat supplement for Big Eyes, Small Mouth and the Tri- Stat SystemTM. The book contains the necessary mechanics to run a mecha-heavy campaign featuring the exploits of angst-ridden robot pilots, sleek combat cyborgs, bold starship captains, and a limitless number of other anime mecha archetypes. But it doesn’t stop there! BRCS is sufficiently flexible to allow players and GMs to design and stat-out nearly any robot, vehicle, Sample file structure, or giant monster from any genre in a matter of minutes — from motor bikes to space stations, mecha dragons to pirate ships. All this from a flexible creation system that minimizes overly- complex game mechanics and maximizes your creative potential! Big Robots, Cool Starships

Written by David L. Pulver Tri-Stat System Designed by Mark C. MacKinnon Edited by Mark C. MacKinnon and Karen A. McLarney Cover Illustrations by Theodore Serafica and David A. White Interior Illustrations by Louis Frank, David Okum, Derek T. Stevens, David A. White Playtesting by Lon Braidwood, Steve Dickie, John C. Fiala, John Karakash, Karen A. McLarney, George J. Nacke, John W. Nowak, Trey Palmer, Richard Spainhour.

Dedicated to Timothy and Peggy Pulver, John Nowak and Mark MacKinnon, for your support, trust and friendship.

Version 1.0

All rights reserved under international law. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except for personal copies of the character sheet, or brief quotes for use in reviews.

GUARDIANS OF ORDER, INC. P.O. Box 25016 370 Stone Road Guelph, Ontario CANADA N1G 4T4 Phone: (519) 821-7174 Fax: (519) 821-7635 [email protected] http://www.guardiansorder.com Foreword

I am proud to present the first supplement for Big Eyes, Small Mouth!

Guardians Of Order would like to extend a sincere “thank you” to everyone who has patiently waited for us to start supporting the BESM line. I hope you find that this book was worth the wait.

When I first published BESM in August 1997, I had only intended to commit myself to the company part-time. In fact, I had hoped to sell the entire first print run of 1000 copies over my lifetime. When the game premiered at GenCon 97, I discovered that I had a hit on my hands. We blew through 125 copies at the convention in three days, and the rest of the print run in less than six months. During that time, BESM also received a nomination for the Origins Award for “Best Role-Playing Game” of 1997 — an honour that I will treasure forever. The game’s success prompted me to expand the company’s operations, and in January of 1998 we acquired the RPG rights to the popular anime series, Sailor Moon. All throughout 1998, Karen (my VP) and I were forced to split our time between producing the The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book and our university degrees. Consequently, we could not start directly supporting the BESM line as soon as we would have liked. This is now changed.

In November 1998, acclaimed industry writer, David L. Pulver, began work for the company as Associate Line Editor and Senior Staff Writer. David has worked on many GURPS books for Steve Jackson Games (including GURPS Biotech, GURPS Mecha, and GURPS Vehicles) as well as other game companies, including R. Talsorian Games and TSR. David’s first task at Guardians Of Order was to develop the best and most complete mecha/vehicle/building multi-genre creation system the gaming industry has ever seen. David worked wonders with the Tri-StatSample System, andfile Big Robots, Cool Starships was the result. I think that this is simply one of the best game supplements ever created. The flexible creation system allows players to design any organic or man-made structure that they can imagine — from the smallest robot to the largest planet-killer, from tenth-century pirate ships to thirtieth-century spaceships. Motorcycles, giant monsters, helicopters, multi-legged walkers, powered armour, steam-punk mecha-dragons, transforming cyborgs, deadly laser weapons, slick sport cars...it is all possible with this single book!

Once again, thank you for your support. This company was built by dedicated anime and role-playing fans such as yourself, and we will continue to earn your patronage by producing the best anime RPGs available. Next up: Hot Rods and Gun Bunnies in August 1999 by Jim Crocker — a supplement for the “guys-with-cars and girls-with-guns” anime and Hong Kong cinema genre!

Mark C. MacKinnon June 1999 Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 5 The Origins of Mecha ...... 5 Using Big Robots, Cool Starships ...... 6 Chapter 2: Mecha Creation ...... 7 Mecha-Related Attributes ...... 7 Mecha-Related Character Defects ...... 12 Creating Mecha ...... 13 Mecha Creation Flowchart ...... 14 Step 5A: GM Discussion ...... 15 Step 5B: Mecha Outline ...... 15 Step 5C: Mecha Sub-Attributes ...... 17 Structural Sub-Attributes ...... 18 Mobility Sub-Attributes ...... 21 Other Mecha Sub-Attributes ...... 26 Weapon Sub-Attributes ...... 37 Step 5D: Mecha Defects ...... 46 Step 5E: Mecha Derived Values ...... 55 Step 5F: Mecha Background ...... 56 Sample Mecha Designs ...... 57 Chapter 3: Mecha Combat and Other Actions ...... 65 Combat Ideology ...... 65 Movement in Combat ...... 65 Dramatic Manoeuvres ...... 66 Flying, Jumping, Diving ...... 68 Combat Ranges ...... 69 Mecha Attacks ...... 70 Delivering Damage in Mecha Combat ...... 72 Effects of Damage to a Mecha ...... 72 Occupant Injuries ...... 73 Major Systems Damage (Optional) ...... 73 Crashing and FallingSample ...... file ...... 74 Raming ...... 76 Throwing Heavy Things ...... 77 Fighting Inside a Mecha ...... 78 Destroying Buildings ...... 79 Escaping a Destroyed Mecha ...... 79 Mass Mecha Destruction ...... 80 Mecha with Multiple Crew ...... 80 Game Mastering Big Battles ...... 81 Travelling In Space ...... 81 Space Movement ...... 82 Mecha Repairs ...... 83 Chapter 4: Mecha Campaigns ...... 85 Mecha Campaign Settings ...... 85 Game Seeds ...... 87 Chapter 5: Sample Adventure ...... 91 Red Planet, Blue Helmets ...... 92

Index ...... 104 Personality Profiles ...... 106 Mecha Design Character Sheet ...... 108 Chapter 1 introduction

The Origins of Mecha

“Mecha” is the term used by animators and fans to refer to the mechanical designs that appear in Japanese anime and manga. A mecha often invokes images of giant robots, but it can actually refer to any mechanical device, including spaceships, normal automobiles, jet planes, or even motorcycles. This book provides a means to describe and design mecha within Big Eyes, Small Mouth’s Tri-Stat System, with simple, playable mechanics for using them in anime-style role-playing adventures. The use of mecha in anime can be traced back to 1963. Mushi Production’s Tetsuwan Atom, (dubbed into English as Astro Boy), featured the adventures of a super- powered android boy. This series was not only the first robot-mecha, but also the very first Japanese animated television series. Tetsuwan Atom was followed by many other shows that featured high-tech vehicles and robots, including the famous Mach Go Go Go! (1967; dubbed into English as Speed RacerSample) with its super-powered file race car, and Iron Man 28 (1966; dubbed into English as Gigantor), whose boy hero operated a giant remote-control robot. When people think of Japanese anime today, one of the most enduring images is the giant humanoid robot, inside which rides the heroic pilot. This idea originated with ace creator Go Nagai and his pioneering mecha television show Mazinger Z (1972; dubbed into English as TranZor Z). With a human in the cockpit, action could now take place on two levels: dynamic mecha battles, and dramatic soap operas involving their ordinary human pilots. Later series introduced combining and transforming robots that could shift forms, merge together, or do both. An entire anime genre was born — teams of agents using super-powered robots — which soon began a craze that even spread to North America with shows such as Transformers (1984). Space Cruiser Yamato (1974) was another seminal work. Dubbed into English as Star Blazers, it was a sprawling space opera in which a spacefaring battleship (and its fighter squadron) was sent on an epic quest to save a dying Earth from a hostile space empire. The series won dedicated fans for its complex continuing story arc and changing characters, a feature that has also garnered critical acclaim for American television shows such as Babylon 5.

5 Big Robots, Cool Starships Chapter 1 Introduction

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) was a different kind of big robot show: a realistic science fiction war story. Instead of robots that were unique inventions run by secret agencies, they were mass-produced combat machines, fighting in battle alongside tanks and jet fighters. While retaining the trappings of 20-metre tall robots and dramatic space battles, its core was a hard-edged SF story focusing on character development in the crucible of war. Although slow to find an audience, Gundam (like the original Star Trek series) became wildly popular once it was released in syndication; this created a surge in the popularity of mecha shows, including the very successful Super-Dimensional Fortress Macross (1982; dubbed into English as Robotech). More importantly, it opened up an untapped market for anime aimed at an older teenage audience, paving the way for the wide variety of action and drama series seen today, not to mention the many RPGs, novels, and computer games. Of course, mecha anime need not focus on fantastic robots and science fiction vehicles. Anime shows such as Area 88 (1985; mercenary fighter pilots in the Middle East), 801 TTS Airbats (1994; more pilots, in the Japanese air force), Riding Bean (1989; cops, crooks, and car chases in modern-day Chicago), Silent Service (1995; Tom Clancy- esque submarine duels), and Porco Rosso (1992; the adventures of a flying boat pilot in 1920’s Italy) demonstrate that anime offerings are not lacking in mecha action.

Using Big Robots, Cool Starships

Big Robots, Cool Starships Sample(BRCS) is a multi-genre file anime supplement that adds mecha design and combat rules to the Big Eyes, Small Mouth role-playing game (BESM) and Guardians Of Order’s Tri-Stat System. With these rules, the GM has more detailed mechanics to run a mecha-heavy campaign, featuring the exploits of angst-ridden robot pilots, sleek combat cyborgs, bold starship captains, and many other anime mecha archetypes. This supplement is not just for mecha battle campaigns, however. Nearly all anime settings include some form of vehicle action. BRCS is designed to be flexible enough to give the GM the freedom to create almost any vehicle’s game Stats in a few minutes, and then help resolve car chases, starship crashes, or pirate attacks quickly and cinematically. While BRCS adds some extra detail to BESM, it avoids complex war-game mechanics or formula-heavy mecha design rules. Instead, the system addition is a simple but very flexible mechanic that allows players and GMs to create just about any kind of mecha without sacrificing imagination in favour of realism or play balance. After all, no matter how awe-inspiring the mecha, it really only has one goal: to propel the character into the adventure, and make the action that much more dramatic!

6 Big Robots, Cool Starships