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The Robotech RPG #4
Southern Cross
112 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 4, 2020
I love this book...and I hate this book! Allow me to explain.
The Southern Cross is probably my least favorite of the three (maybe four) eras that make up the Robotech universe. I find the characters, particularly Dana Sterling, Bowie Grant, et al, to be less than inspiring, if not downright annoying. They lack the charisma and interest of the Macross era gang and the desperation and camaraderie of the Invasion era group. The interplay between the Robotech Masters and/or Elders lacks the panache of that we see between Breetai and Exedore. And Supreme Commander Leonard is just the worst. Rolf Emerson's death was so unnecessary, replete with the fatalistic despair of one resigned to his fate; he remains loyal to a fault to a leader he knows to be unworthy, but stands firm, unwilling to violate his own principles to change his fate.
The Southern Cross however, remains my favorite aspect of the evolving United Earth Government, as the result seems to be an inevitability and well told. A government essentially controlled by the whims of the military finds itself supplanted by said military, holding tenuous power subject to the whims of the Supreme Commander. A Commander who reigns unchecked, and who wastes lives and resources fighting a war he doesn't even understand. This new military arm of the United Earth Government no longer serves as Earth's protectors, but as Earth's enforcers. Gone is the desire to protect Humanity, replaced by the Supreme Commander's need to directly control the planet.
I remember, as a younger me, in those pre-internet Halcyon days, this was one of the last Robotech RPG books I was able to acquire. I scoured bookshelves at every store I went hoping against hope that they had an RPG section, hoping even more that they carried Robotech, and hoping further still that this book would be nestled away on some dusty, forgotten shelf somewhere. That day did eventually happen in my mid-teens, as it sat in a spinner rack in the back of some forgotten store in a shopping mall in California, and that copy I still retain.
As a rulebook, this does require the main Robotech RPG book to play, as the rules contained herein are mostly supplemental in nature (although there are some reprints). The setting is rather sparse and needs a tremendous amount of imagination...unless one were just attempting to recreate the show itself, but the Mecha are beautiful...even the ungainly homegrown monstrosities of the EBSIS (yes, they're still around) which will always hold a special place in my heart. Spoilers: The EBSIS becomes the most powerful nation on Earth by the end of the Second Robotech War as the Armies of the Southern Cross have exhausted themselves fighting the Robotech Masters.
If I have a complaint, it is the lack of emphasis on space combat. Sure, the stats on there, but the Southern Cross fleet is almost a throwaway entry tucked up somewhere in the middle. In the cartoon, Supreme Commander Leonard throws wave after wave of starships at the Robotech Masters in a futile effort to defeat them, but that is not reflected here very well.
The Southern Cross is probably my least favorite of the three (maybe four) eras that make up the Robotech universe. I find the characters, particularly Dana Sterling, Bowie Grant, et al, to be less than inspiring, if not downright annoying. They lack the charisma and interest of the Macross era gang and the desperation and camaraderie of the Invasion era group. The interplay between the Robotech Masters and/or Elders lacks the panache of that we see between Breetai and Exedore. And Supreme Commander Leonard is just the worst. Rolf Emerson's death was so unnecessary, replete with the fatalistic despair of one resigned to his fate; he remains loyal to a fault to a leader he knows to be unworthy, but stands firm, unwilling to violate his own principles to change his fate.
The Southern Cross however, remains my favorite aspect of the evolving United Earth Government, as the result seems to be an inevitability and well told. A government essentially controlled by the whims of the military finds itself supplanted by said military, holding tenuous power subject to the whims of the Supreme Commander. A Commander who reigns unchecked, and who wastes lives and resources fighting a war he doesn't even understand. This new military arm of the United Earth Government no longer serves as Earth's protectors, but as Earth's enforcers. Gone is the desire to protect Humanity, replaced by the Supreme Commander's need to directly control the planet.
I remember, as a younger me, in those pre-internet Halcyon days, this was one of the last Robotech RPG books I was able to acquire. I scoured bookshelves at every store I went hoping against hope that they had an RPG section, hoping even more that they carried Robotech, and hoping further still that this book would be nestled away on some dusty, forgotten shelf somewhere. That day did eventually happen in my mid-teens, as it sat in a spinner rack in the back of some forgotten store in a shopping mall in California, and that copy I still retain.
As a rulebook, this does require the main Robotech RPG book to play, as the rules contained herein are mostly supplemental in nature (although there are some reprints). The setting is rather sparse and needs a tremendous amount of imagination...unless one were just attempting to recreate the show itself, but the Mecha are beautiful...even the ungainly homegrown monstrosities of the EBSIS (yes, they're still around) which will always hold a special place in my heart. Spoilers: The EBSIS becomes the most powerful nation on Earth by the end of the Second Robotech War as the Armies of the Southern Cross have exhausted themselves fighting the Robotech Masters.
If I have a complaint, it is the lack of emphasis on space combat. Sure, the stats on there, but the Southern Cross fleet is almost a throwaway entry tucked up somewhere in the middle. In the cartoon, Supreme Commander Leonard throws wave after wave of starships at the Robotech Masters in a futile effort to defeat them, but that is not reflected here very well.
May 6, 2021
If you are into Giant robots then here is a great sourcebook. Very nice art and layout. Recommended
June 13, 2012
never read this - no idea how it got on mine????
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews