The Inside Scoop on Gaming

In honor of the 15th anniversary of Macross and its distant relative, Robotech, I splurged and bought a stack of the Robotech role-playing supplements and the Jack McKinney novels. Yep, with a week or two preparation I would run the Robotech campaign to end all. There would be heartfelt songs, lovelorn pilots, cocky aces and giggly bridge crew, along with a bevy of Zentraedi, civilians, and a kitchen sink or two.

That goal got hazy and faded away as I made the first of several mistakes in planning the campaign. The first and most heinous error was in cracking the cover of Robotech Book One: Macross. From the title page on was a muddy slide into disillusionment and extreme disappointment.

First the bad news. Robotech uses the Palladium system that it has kept since Mechanoids. Beta testing for the Palladium system must have wrapped up around 1975. The system is based on classes, levels, and God help us, weapon proficiencies. The author defended his choice of an experience point-based system to closely reflect reality by citing the frequent occurences of experience being the deciding factor in comic books he had read. Huh. Mega-Damage(tm) is big nasty 100x damage that is dished out by missles, lasers, and anything large or alien. MD is a poor substitute for armor penetration and large scale damage rules. Rules covering combat are clunky and irritating.

Character creation does nothing to fix the old problem that has cursed mecha games throughout their history. What about the non-mecha-using characters? Robotech doesn't even take a swing at that. Since players roll for their stats, there's a chance that they won't get to be what their hearts desire. A player might end up playing an engineer because he rolls and gets a character with a 70 I.Q. With an I.Q of 60, one can pilot one of the giant robot Destroids. Want to play a Minmei-type character? Tough cookies. She's a civilian. The rules don't cover anyone who isn't in either the Robotech Defense Force or Zentraedi.

The writing is average at best. More effort seems to have gone into determining how many lasers each fighter has than understanding character motivations, the Robotech world, and its people. Line drawings were put in the spaces where more world information could have been put. Little information is given as to what life is like in the post-apocalypse Robotech world. There are extensive charts for insanity and drug-use. A section entitled Adventure Scenarios is really just a table of random menaces to kill. The adventure "On the Defensive" is a firefight with an introduction. Any role-playing that might occur during "On the Defensive" is purely coincidental.

The art and layout smack of early 1980's game materials. Granted, it was first created in the middle part of that decade. In a dozen printings there doesn't appear to have been any attempt at improving the game. As an anime fan book in same vein as R. Talsorian's AT Votoms and Bubblegum Crisis, Robotech is the ugly stepchild. As a role-playing game, it doesn't fare much better. For Macross/Robotech completists, the $12 dollar buy-in is cheap. Unfortunately the cheapness shows.

One wouldn't buy the game for looks or quality. No, the only reason it would end up on the shelf is because there is no other. The solution for myself and many others has been to buy a copy of Mekton Zeta when you get Robotech. The price might be a little steep, but with much work, the result is do-able.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Robotech: The Role-Playing Game
Author: Kevin Siembieda Category: game Company/Publisher: Palladium Books Cost: $11.95 Page count: 110 ISBN: 0-916211-21-5 Capsule Review by C.H. Gallant on 03/24/98. Genre tags: none	In honor of the 15th anniversary of Macross and its distant relative, Robotech, I splurged and bought a stack of the Robotech role-playing supplements and the Jack McKinney novels. Yep, with a week or two preparation I would run the Robotech campaign to end all. There would be heartfelt songs, lovelorn pilots, cocky aces and giggly bridge crew, along with a bevy of Zentraedi, civilians, and a kitchen sink or two. That goal got hazy and faded away as I made the first of several mistakes in planning the campaign. The first and most heinous error was in cracking the cover of Robotech Book One: Macross. From the title page on was a muddy slide into disillusionment and extreme disappointment. First the bad news. Robotech uses the Palladium system that it has kept since Mechanoids. Beta testing for the Palladium system must have wrapped up around 1975. The system is based on classes, levels, and God help us, weapon proficiencies. The author defended his choice of an experience point-based system to closely reflect reality by citing the frequent occurences of experience being the deciding factor in comic books he had read. Huh. Mega-Damage(tm) is big nasty 100x damage that is dished out by missles, lasers, and anything large or alien. MD is a poor substitute for armor penetration and large scale damage rules. Rules covering combat are clunky and irritating. Character creation does nothing to fix the old problem that has cursed mecha games throughout their history. What about the non-mecha-using characters? Robotech doesn't even take a swing at that. Since players roll for their stats, there's a chance that they won't get to be what their hearts desire. A player might end up playing an engineer because he rolls and gets a character with a 70 I.Q. With an I.Q of 60, one can pilot one of the giant robot Destroids. Want to play a Minmei-type character? Tough cookies. She's a civilian. The rules don't cover anyone who isn't in either the Robotech Defense Force or Zentraedi. The writing is average at best. More effort seems to have gone into determining how many lasers each fighter has than understanding character motivations, the Robotech world, and its people. Line drawings were put in the spaces where more world information could have been put. Little information is given as to what life is like in the post-apocalypse Robotech world. There are extensive charts for insanity and drug-use. A section entitled Adventure Scenarios is really just a table of random menaces to kill. The adventure "On the Defensive" is a firefight with an introduction. Any role-playing that might occur during "On the Defensive" is purely coincidental. The art and layout smack of early 1980's game materials. Granted, it was first created in the middle part of that decade. In a dozen printings there doesn't appear to have been any attempt at improving the game. As an anime fan book in same vein as R. Talsorian's AT Votoms and Bubblegum Crisis, Robotech is the ugly stepchild. As a role-playing game, it doesn't fare much better. For Macross/Robotech completists, the $12 dollar buy-in is cheap. Unfortunately the cheapness shows. One wouldn't buy the game for looks or quality. No, the only reason it would end up on the shelf is because there is no other. The solution for myself and many others has been to buy a copy of Mekton Zeta when you get Robotech. The price might be a little steep, but with much work, the result is do-able. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Robotech: The Role-Playing Game