Grab-Bag II: The Follow-Up

I put up a post about some new arrivals last week and since there was some discussion around it I thought I would follow it up this week with the next chapter in the story:

I really like the Mekton II covers - there's no question as to what these books are about, unlike some RPGs that seem determined to keep that a secret until you open up the book.

That wraps up the core of Mekton II. I know there's an adventure or two and I believe the techbook was for Mekton II but I always thought of these three books as giving you the main system, an option for a smaller scale game in Roadstriker, and an option to blow it wide open with Empire.

As far as actual campaigns I've never run or played more than a session or two of Mekton. I have had what I thought were some pretty solid ideas for campaigns years ago but I think I tossed my notes when I sold off the books so I'm starting with a blank slate at this point. I have been rolling a few ideas around in my head:

• Star Wars with mecha instead of fighters and ground vehicles. Not terribly original but I think it would be fun. The trick is making it different enough while keeping it at least somewhat familiar.
• Take a western like Silverado or Tombstone (or one of the older classics) and use that as a plot and character outline but dress it with tech. Throw in some Firefly for good measure.  
• Space cruiser on a long quest with mecha as it's main means of interaction with planets and other spacecraft - a mix-up of Star Trek (probably a lot of Voyager, which is not my favorite but it could work here), Star Blazers (the first series), and Battlestar Galactica. I need to work on this one some more but I think I could make something of it, and lord knows there are a lot of resources out there for planets and races. I might use Stars Without Number for some of the sandbox system.

There's not a lot of danger of any of these ideas being called into service in the next few weeks so I have time to work them out. I may have a need for them one of these days as I think I have 2-3 players now who are interested enough to at least give the game a try. I may put together a "pilot" that would take a session or three to play through and see what kind of reception it gets. WHo knows where it might lead?

Anyway that's the latest on the gaming front here. More to come.