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The Robotech RPG
Ref Field Guide
RPG Book
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1988
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32 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Siembieda
205 books52 followersKevin Siembieda (born April 2, 1956) is an American artist, writer, designer, and publisher of role-playing games, as well as being the founder and president of Palladium Books.
Palladium Books, founded in southeast Michigan, claims to be the first to implement a role-playing system intended to work for all genres and to introduce the perfect-bound trade paperback format to the RPG industry.
Some of the role-playing games Siembieda helped produce include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness (1985), Robotech RPG (1986), After The Bomb (1986), and Rifts (1990).
Siembieda is also an artist, best known for occasionally illustrating Palladium Books' products. In 1978, he started the now-defunct Megaton Publications in Detroit, publishing a digest style title called A+ Plus and several other titles. He also contributed art and cartography to several early Judges Guild products (for both their Traveller and Dungeons & Dragons lines).
Palladium Books, founded in southeast Michigan, claims to be the first to implement a role-playing system intended to work for all genres and to introduce the perfect-bound trade paperback format to the RPG industry.
Some of the role-playing games Siembieda helped produce include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness (1985), Robotech RPG (1986), After The Bomb (1986), and Rifts (1990).
Siembieda is also an artist, best known for occasionally illustrating Palladium Books' products. In 1978, he started the now-defunct Megaton Publications in Detroit, publishing a digest style title called A+ Plus and several other titles. He also contributed art and cartography to several early Judges Guild products (for both their Traveller and Dungeons & Dragons lines).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 4, 2020
Nice reference book for a Robotech game. well written whit a ton of nice illustrations. Recommended
September 4, 2020
Much like the RDF Manual that came before it, this always struck me as the "REF Manual" in spite of its title.
That being said; however, this book seems to be primarily one of illustrations as opposed to a world information and equipment expansion. The various vehicles, ships, equipment, and weapons existent in The Sentinels are herein expanded upon, drawn from various angles and in various states of being. Occasionally, there is a statistic or two thrown in, or some supplementary information, presumably to help fill out some gaps missing in The Sentinels. I did happen to notice that, somewhat comically, there are silhouette profiles of the various REF space vessels side by side, something which is typically done for vehicle recognition and size comparison, yet there is a side note next to them stating that the scales are not exact, and that the smaller ships should be 25% smaller still; which begs the question: why aren't they depicted as such? Bigger I could understand, as it may not fit on the layout of the page, but to not depict them smaller? Ah, well, such is life I suppose.
There are also floor plans for various REF bases, which is nice for those who wish to go on a planet hopping campaign and would like some place to visit or call home. Likewise, every major NPC is stated and fleshed out if you'd like to use any of them in your campaign. There are also notes for the players aimed towards their REF Characters and how they should react in game when encountering various enemies.
The rather detailed adventure contained within is actually rather well-written, in my opinion, and gives a nice "horror vibe" which is something that could be missing from your average Robotech campaign. I don't think I would recommend it for a first time adventure (there are Random Encounter Tables in The Sentinels that could do that), as the stakes are sufficiently high, for capturing the Factory Satellite could unquestioningly tip the balance in favor of the REF, and new players may not quite understand the universe enough to get that. The addition of the various robotic drone enemy Mecha also adds a nice variation for players and Game Masters who may be getting tired or unimpressed by the Invid they've been presumably fighting for a while up to this point.
The supplement rounds off with some expanded Blood Loss and Point Blank Damage rules, as well as some Common Sense guidelines (i.e., no, you won't survive throwing yourself on a grenade, no matter how many HP you have).
That being said; however, this book seems to be primarily one of illustrations as opposed to a world information and equipment expansion. The various vehicles, ships, equipment, and weapons existent in The Sentinels are herein expanded upon, drawn from various angles and in various states of being. Occasionally, there is a statistic or two thrown in, or some supplementary information, presumably to help fill out some gaps missing in The Sentinels. I did happen to notice that, somewhat comically, there are silhouette profiles of the various REF space vessels side by side, something which is typically done for vehicle recognition and size comparison, yet there is a side note next to them stating that the scales are not exact, and that the smaller ships should be 25% smaller still; which begs the question: why aren't they depicted as such? Bigger I could understand, as it may not fit on the layout of the page, but to not depict them smaller? Ah, well, such is life I suppose.
There are also floor plans for various REF bases, which is nice for those who wish to go on a planet hopping campaign and would like some place to visit or call home. Likewise, every major NPC is stated and fleshed out if you'd like to use any of them in your campaign. There are also notes for the players aimed towards their REF Characters and how they should react in game when encountering various enemies.
The rather detailed adventure contained within is actually rather well-written, in my opinion, and gives a nice "horror vibe" which is something that could be missing from your average Robotech campaign. I don't think I would recommend it for a first time adventure (there are Random Encounter Tables in The Sentinels that could do that), as the stakes are sufficiently high, for capturing the Factory Satellite could unquestioningly tip the balance in favor of the REF, and new players may not quite understand the universe enough to get that. The addition of the various robotic drone enemy Mecha also adds a nice variation for players and Game Masters who may be getting tired or unimpressed by the Invid they've been presumably fighting for a while up to this point.
The supplement rounds off with some expanded Blood Loss and Point Blank Damage rules, as well as some Common Sense guidelines (i.e., no, you won't survive throwing yourself on a grenade, no matter how many HP you have).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews