Titanfall

[Michael Hopcroft]

One of the reasons I'm writing this from a backup machine is that my main computer is in the shop getting a new graphics card. You see, I got a PC download of Titanfall as a present (perfectly legitimate -- it had been an convention prize no-one had claimed and they had to give the code t somebody before it expired, and I won the draw). Waiting for the computer to get back, I'm thinking of the settings RPG potential.

Titans are mecha that are principal ground combat weapons in the setting. They're like mecha, but unlike most mecha they aren't invulnerable to infantry. One infantryman standing against a Titan is pretty much toast, but a properly-equipped fireteam can take one out if it doesn't take them out first.

Titan pilots frequently fight out of their cockpits -- they wear special armor and are capable of serious feats of free-running.

Does anyone who's played more Titanfall than I have have any thoughts about roleplaying in the setting?

[sladethesniper]

So, they are more like mecha equipped dragoons, or mechanized infantry where each soldier gets his own AFV. Interesting.

-STS

[Michael Hopcroft]

So, they are more like mecha equipped dragoons, or mechanized infantry where each soldier gets his own AFV. Interesting.

Presumably Titan Pilots are highly-qualified and highly-trained elite soldiers. You don't give a Titan to a raw conscript.

Although I wonder how hard and fast a rule that is in the setting. It's already a bit of a logical disconnect that the rebel Militia has Titans at all, not to mention the capital ships they go from world to world on and the massive technical resources required to keep them running. How do they pay for it all? And as the war drags on and the elite Pilots drop like flies, the standards for troops on both sides might start to slip and less qualified people can get into one. The "government" side (actually a massive natural resources megacorp with all the perks of a government and none of that pesky "I have to check in with the voters every four years" nonsense) has a serious problem apparently keeping its best people loyal -- the defection of their best general (and, presumably, the forces he led) is a major element of the backstory.

About which none of the players actually care. They just like to stomp around in big robots (or run across walls shooting as they go) and repeatedly frag each other.