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Lancer
Lancer is a mud-and-lasers RPG about mechs and the pilots who crew them, featuring deep narrative play, gritty tactical combat and broad customization.
430 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2019
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117 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 24, 2022
I'm looking forward to getting this to the table. This is a tabletop RPG that in which players take the role of mech pilots in a distant future. First of all, the book is gorgeous. The art is mindblowingly good. The characters all have personality. The mechs designs rival the best that I've seen. The world is mysterious and inviting. All in all, it really inspires you to want to play. As for the game itself, players will create both a pilot and a mech. There are a lot of options for customization of your mech, particularly when you get to higher levels. Players are allowed to customize their mech before missions, which I imagine would slow the game down quite a bit, but if you have players do their customizations before the sessions start, that should be manageable.
December 10, 2019
War is hell. Giant robots are fricking rad. And a great crunchy RPG is a rare beast in 2019. LANCER is all three of those things.
In the far future, humanity is spread out over the galaxy, and life is thoroughly weird and dangerous. 3-D printing means that core systems are basically post-scarcity, but there are plenty of threats from rogue AIs, local warlords, space pirates, mega-corps, and a host of baddies. You are a squad of mech pilots, the tip of the spear in the next generation of war. Characters get just enough distinctions to set them apart, but the real meat of the game is tactical combat with an almost infinitely customizable set of mecha. Pick a chassis, pick guns and melee weapons, pick special equipment and bonuses, and then win your battles with skill and luck. There are lots of buttons to press, with standard and electronic warfare attacks, bonus actions, deployable drones and defenses, managing heat, hitpoints, and limited ammo, and firepower ranging from automatic rifles to heavy howitzers, swarms of nanobots, plasma whips, and causality violating guns from the future.
There are a lot of moving parts, so LANCER keeps the core mechanics simple. 1d20+a single digit modifier +/- max(nd6). The most common mods are accuracy and difficulty, which each give +1d6 and cancel each other out. Rolls over 20+ are critical hits. This bounded accuracy makes it hard to break the game, there's only so much the probability curve will let you get away with (though accuracy matters a lot, with success on a 10+, that first bonus die is a 10% improvement in the odds, and turns crits from a 5% chance to a 17% chance).
I've only read the free player-facing rules, so I'm guessing at the implied setting, but it sounds pretty wild and gamable. I fell in love with the Omnigun, which defies physics and maybe comes from the future. The mechs are engagingly quick, with the standard Size 1 chassis at 3 or 4 meters tall, going all the way up massive Size 3 behemoths. It's a good middle ground between the ponderous stompers of Battletech, and the impossibly large and graceful machines of anime.
The rules look good, the art is of course glorious, but what caused my jaw to drop was the CompCon character building software. Coming from D&D Beyond, which is barely better than flipping through rulebooks like it's 1986, CompCon is a fully integrated character builder and encounter manager. The interface is a little utilitarian, but it's also almost entirely frictionless, and better than anything the indie RPG world has to offer.
EDIT: So I resisted about 2 days before buying the full book. The GMing support is decent. Suggested tactical map sizes are very big, 40x20 hexes, and a mission has between 3-4 combats, fewer than D&D4e. I need to see how the system works in play, but having run the numbers, I'm a little concerned that accuracy is too high and defenses too low. The whiff factor sucks, but with typical numbers it seems like attacks almost never fail. There are 30 enemy mechs, which come in 3 tiers and can have a variety of optional subsystems, which seems decent, equivalent to at least a stock Monster Manual.
That said, having read all of the setting guide, I'm not sure it works together. The fiction depicts a prosperous post-scarcity universe, with worlds linked together by key sets of instantaneous Blink Gates. But the galaxy is a big place, and getting anywhere not on the Gate network means sublight travel, so there's a massive Diaspora of planets where physically going there involves incurring years of time debt, though since ships cruise at .995 c and typical lifespans are few centuries, subjective travel times are not that bad. The current government of Union is radically egalitarian and utopian in outlook, the past is full of imperialist horrors, and I love the truly weird temporality violating AI stuff.
But here's the rub. The setting is very much Ursula K Le Guin Hainish cycle space opera, with long range diplomacy and lots of weird human cultures. But the praxis of the rules is that four strangers with mechs show up in town, solve problems by wrecking a few dozen bad dudes with mechs, and depart. The key criteria for an RPG setting is that it is gameable, that it provides a pretext for an adventuring party to make a difference, and as cool as the setting of Lancer is, I need to do a lot of bending to get it to fit my understanding of how an adventure works. I'm not going to knock it down a star, but I'm a little annoyed.
In the far future, humanity is spread out over the galaxy, and life is thoroughly weird and dangerous. 3-D printing means that core systems are basically post-scarcity, but there are plenty of threats from rogue AIs, local warlords, space pirates, mega-corps, and a host of baddies. You are a squad of mech pilots, the tip of the spear in the next generation of war. Characters get just enough distinctions to set them apart, but the real meat of the game is tactical combat with an almost infinitely customizable set of mecha. Pick a chassis, pick guns and melee weapons, pick special equipment and bonuses, and then win your battles with skill and luck. There are lots of buttons to press, with standard and electronic warfare attacks, bonus actions, deployable drones and defenses, managing heat, hitpoints, and limited ammo, and firepower ranging from automatic rifles to heavy howitzers, swarms of nanobots, plasma whips, and causality violating guns from the future.
There are a lot of moving parts, so LANCER keeps the core mechanics simple. 1d20+a single digit modifier +/- max(nd6). The most common mods are accuracy and difficulty, which each give +1d6 and cancel each other out. Rolls over 20+ are critical hits. This bounded accuracy makes it hard to break the game, there's only so much the probability curve will let you get away with (though accuracy matters a lot, with success on a 10+, that first bonus die is a 10% improvement in the odds, and turns crits from a 5% chance to a 17% chance).
I've only read the free player-facing rules, so I'm guessing at the implied setting, but it sounds pretty wild and gamable. I fell in love with the Omnigun, which defies physics and maybe comes from the future. The mechs are engagingly quick, with the standard Size 1 chassis at 3 or 4 meters tall, going all the way up massive Size 3 behemoths. It's a good middle ground between the ponderous stompers of Battletech, and the impossibly large and graceful machines of anime.
The rules look good, the art is of course glorious, but what caused my jaw to drop was the CompCon character building software. Coming from D&D Beyond, which is barely better than flipping through rulebooks like it's 1986, CompCon is a fully integrated character builder and encounter manager. The interface is a little utilitarian, but it's also almost entirely frictionless, and better than anything the indie RPG world has to offer.
EDIT: So I resisted about 2 days before buying the full book. The GMing support is decent. Suggested tactical map sizes are very big, 40x20 hexes, and a mission has between 3-4 combats, fewer than D&D4e. I need to see how the system works in play, but having run the numbers, I'm a little concerned that accuracy is too high and defenses too low. The whiff factor sucks, but with typical numbers it seems like attacks almost never fail. There are 30 enemy mechs, which come in 3 tiers and can have a variety of optional subsystems, which seems decent, equivalent to at least a stock Monster Manual.
That said, having read all of the setting guide, I'm not sure it works together. The fiction depicts a prosperous post-scarcity universe, with worlds linked together by key sets of instantaneous Blink Gates. But the galaxy is a big place, and getting anywhere not on the Gate network means sublight travel, so there's a massive Diaspora of planets where physically going there involves incurring years of time debt, though since ships cruise at .995 c and typical lifespans are few centuries, subjective travel times are not that bad. The current government of Union is radically egalitarian and utopian in outlook, the past is full of imperialist horrors, and I love the truly weird temporality violating AI stuff.
But here's the rub. The setting is very much Ursula K Le Guin Hainish cycle space opera, with long range diplomacy and lots of weird human cultures. But the praxis of the rules is that four strangers with mechs show up in town, solve problems by wrecking a few dozen bad dudes with mechs, and depart. The key criteria for an RPG setting is that it is gameable, that it provides a pretext for an adventuring party to make a difference, and as cool as the setting of Lancer is, I need to do a lot of bending to get it to fit my understanding of how an adventure works. I'm not going to knock it down a star, but I'm a little annoyed.
September 11, 2023
Overall great but very complex to play in practice
January 14, 2020
I picked up Lancer on a whim over christmas, and have been glued to the screen of my iPad since I first opened the PDF.
Lancer enticed me with it’s gorgeous, distinctive art style, but what hooked me was the system.
I have dabbled in game design, and my white whale was always the marriage of narrative-focused mechanics and deep tactical gameplay. I tried, but I could not get the two elements to gel properly and in time I gave up.
Lancer, however, has managed to blend the two seamlessly and elegantly into a coherent whole. And I’m in love.
Outside of combat, the system is geared towards giving the players agency and letting the mechanics subtly guide the story and fascilitate the players influence over the fiction. Player characters, or pilots, have a set of triggers which take the place of skills and in many ways mirror ApocWorlds moves. Performing an action which involves a trigger grants a bonus to the die roll. It’s elegant, simple and fast, and keeps the story focused on the pilots actions and their consequences.
Once the pilots jump in their mechs and take on a mission, the mechanics become more granular and detailed. In the style of tactical rpgs like D&D, mechs take actions, make moves and activate systems on a turn by turn basis. Every move matters, every attack whittles away at the opponents HP and structure, and coordination, positioning and teamwork become key elements in succeeding at or even just surviving the mission.
But the really impressive part, the part that made me fall in love, is Lancers setting. A far future teetering on a knifes edge between a golden age of prosperity and an inferno of war and conflict, Lancers world is science fiction in its truest sense: It dares to explore contemporary social and political issues through the lense of fantastical fiction. It holds up a mirror to our world and asks what we are becoming, and what we could aspire to instead.
Lancer is a gem, a truly innovative and immaginative take on the mecha genre and roleplaying games as a whole, and without a doubt the best rpg that came out in 2019, possibly the decade. In my humble opinion, of course.
Lancer enticed me with it’s gorgeous, distinctive art style, but what hooked me was the system.
I have dabbled in game design, and my white whale was always the marriage of narrative-focused mechanics and deep tactical gameplay. I tried, but I could not get the two elements to gel properly and in time I gave up.
Lancer, however, has managed to blend the two seamlessly and elegantly into a coherent whole. And I’m in love.
Outside of combat, the system is geared towards giving the players agency and letting the mechanics subtly guide the story and fascilitate the players influence over the fiction. Player characters, or pilots, have a set of triggers which take the place of skills and in many ways mirror ApocWorlds moves. Performing an action which involves a trigger grants a bonus to the die roll. It’s elegant, simple and fast, and keeps the story focused on the pilots actions and their consequences.
Once the pilots jump in their mechs and take on a mission, the mechanics become more granular and detailed. In the style of tactical rpgs like D&D, mechs take actions, make moves and activate systems on a turn by turn basis. Every move matters, every attack whittles away at the opponents HP and structure, and coordination, positioning and teamwork become key elements in succeeding at or even just surviving the mission.
But the really impressive part, the part that made me fall in love, is Lancers setting. A far future teetering on a knifes edge between a golden age of prosperity and an inferno of war and conflict, Lancers world is science fiction in its truest sense: It dares to explore contemporary social and political issues through the lense of fantastical fiction. It holds up a mirror to our world and asks what we are becoming, and what we could aspire to instead.
Lancer is a gem, a truly innovative and immaginative take on the mecha genre and roleplaying games as a whole, and without a doubt the best rpg that came out in 2019, possibly the decade. In my humble opinion, of course.
January 12, 2021
I'm so keen to play this. I read the beta rules a couple of years ago and it was good then, but now that it's been totally finalised it is very, very promising. The universe as presented isn't the most unique thing I've ever read but it is very detailed and well thought out - I could see a lot of fiction being written in that universe.
The book itself is incredibly well finished! Great art, if a little bit schizophrenic with its quality, and the formatting and layout is very crisp and nice. I would love a physical copy to stick on my shelf.
I'm already in the process of writing up a one-shot in the system, can't wait to see how it plays on the table.
The book itself is incredibly well finished! Great art, if a little bit schizophrenic with its quality, and the formatting and layout is very crisp and nice. I would love a physical copy to stick on my shelf.
I'm already in the process of writing up a one-shot in the system, can't wait to see how it plays on the table.
August 13, 2020
I enjoyed this book far more than I anticipated - I backed the kickstarter but found I loved the setting more than I expected. I have not played through the games yet but as a read, the book is awesome. There are strong echoes of Banks Culture - that sense that there may still be a path to a brighter future in this setting - and the way that background is told through the descriptions of character backgrounds and the mech is great.
December 29, 2022
Adding this a second time since the No Room For a Wallflower book isn't on GR but I wanted it to count for my annual total.
This book and that campaign are both amazing. Great work and loving the inclusion of pronouns for all NPCs!
Updated: added another re-read to cover the Karrakin Baronies expansion, which isn't on GR either.
This book and that campaign are both amazing. Great work and loving the inclusion of pronouns for all NPCs!
Updated: added another re-read to cover the Karrakin Baronies expansion, which isn't on GR either.
November 22, 2020
10/10 my character is a space trucker & her mech has all the swords
Read
November 4, 2024How? The library had it! For some reason.
What? This game bills itself as "mud-and-lasers", which doesn't really mean anything. Well, OK, I guess it means that it's a mech game (that's the lasers part) but that it doesn't avoid the grimy underpinning of mechs (that's the mud part) -- but no mech game ever did. The entire history of mech games is "here is your shiny mech, oh, no, you've banged it up." (Games like Salvage Union more explicitly look at mechs as a blue collar career.)
Sorry, let me start over. This is a tactical miniatures game with a lot of customizable options for your mech; it is explicitly inspired by the tactic-heavy combat of D&D 4e -- you know, the edition that was reviled in almost all corners for being too video-gamey. And then, next to that game, there's a story game with far fewer mechanics to help rule what your pilots do in their down time. Why are there two pretty different games in this giant book? Why is this book so big!?
There's also a lot of lore and background here, all about the universe with its Blink gates and diasporic humanity and different big mech corporations/combines, including the one that's really interested in paracausal studies, and also the AIs that help run things.
Yeah, so? I want to like this book -- partly because I got a cheap copy that no one has bought off me yet, and it would be convenient to like it -- but I don't, despite the promise and some really exciting/fun ideas.
What it mostly comes down to is that this book is too big and too dense. In the lore/history side, there's so much here and it's all presented in walls of text, with no real attempt to make it digestible to players. (If I were to use this universe, I would likely start the PCs off in one of the diasporic colonies, with only a little bit of context; and I would probably do something like the Lore sheets in Vampire: if you know a little about a subject, here's what you know -- and if you know more, here's what you know.)
And on the mechanics side, jeez, I want this video game. In fact, someone already made a Lancer video game, I tried out the tutorial and even that had too many options for things you can do in a round. But that's what I want: an X-Com style turn-by-turn tactical game about mechs that I can customize. I don't want to have to do that myself.
What? This game bills itself as "mud-and-lasers", which doesn't really mean anything. Well, OK, I guess it means that it's a mech game (that's the lasers part) but that it doesn't avoid the grimy underpinning of mechs (that's the mud part) -- but no mech game ever did. The entire history of mech games is "here is your shiny mech, oh, no, you've banged it up." (Games like Salvage Union more explicitly look at mechs as a blue collar career.)
Sorry, let me start over. This is a tactical miniatures game with a lot of customizable options for your mech; it is explicitly inspired by the tactic-heavy combat of D&D 4e -- you know, the edition that was reviled in almost all corners for being too video-gamey. And then, next to that game, there's a story game with far fewer mechanics to help rule what your pilots do in their down time. Why are there two pretty different games in this giant book? Why is this book so big!?
There's also a lot of lore and background here, all about the universe with its Blink gates and diasporic humanity and different big mech corporations/combines, including the one that's really interested in paracausal studies, and also the AIs that help run things.
Yeah, so? I want to like this book -- partly because I got a cheap copy that no one has bought off me yet, and it would be convenient to like it -- but I don't, despite the promise and some really exciting/fun ideas.
What it mostly comes down to is that this book is too big and too dense. In the lore/history side, there's so much here and it's all presented in walls of text, with no real attempt to make it digestible to players. (If I were to use this universe, I would likely start the PCs off in one of the diasporic colonies, with only a little bit of context; and I would probably do something like the Lore sheets in Vampire: if you know a little about a subject, here's what you know -- and if you know more, here's what you know.)
And on the mechanics side, jeez, I want this video game. In fact, someone already made a Lancer video game, I tried out the tutorial and even that had too many options for things you can do in a round. But that's what I want: an X-Com style turn-by-turn tactical game about mechs that I can customize. I don't want to have to do that myself.
May 3, 2021
I want to play this game.
This mecha themed game mixes highly narrative roleplaying rules with highly crunchy and tactical mecha combat. The basic system borrows heavily from Powered by the Apocalypse, but uses a d20 for resolution. In narrative mode a single roll will usually decide the outcome of a situation. Basic situations are pass/fail while risky situations fall into the PbtA style results of success/success with consequences/fail.
Once your character gets into a mecha cockpit things change. Now you're in a highly tactical grid or hex based combat system that appears to be heavily influenced by 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions of D&D, with the biggest influence coming from 4th. What that means is lots of options that are fairly easy to understand once you learn the core terminology of the game.
Character creation is largely mecha creation. There are some important choices to be made in defining your character, but the larger choices are in customizing your mecha. Those choices are relatively limited at creation, but broaden out dramatically as the character levels. Character progression is basically level based, but they are "license levels" that have an in-universe analog.
The universe of Lancer is an interesting one as well. Ubiquitous industrial scale 3D printers make building, repairing, and modifying your mecha a simple thing to do. A large utopian government controlling things at the center of civilization, but outside of that core are worlds with differing levels of dystopia. I could go on about the setting quite a bit, but the result for the game is that you can adjust the level of moral grayness based on what your group prefers, from amoral mercenaries doing dirty deeds dirt cheap, to paladins of justice smiting villainous adversaries, all without changing the core setting assumptions.
This mecha themed game mixes highly narrative roleplaying rules with highly crunchy and tactical mecha combat. The basic system borrows heavily from Powered by the Apocalypse, but uses a d20 for resolution. In narrative mode a single roll will usually decide the outcome of a situation. Basic situations are pass/fail while risky situations fall into the PbtA style results of success/success with consequences/fail.
Once your character gets into a mecha cockpit things change. Now you're in a highly tactical grid or hex based combat system that appears to be heavily influenced by 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions of D&D, with the biggest influence coming from 4th. What that means is lots of options that are fairly easy to understand once you learn the core terminology of the game.
Character creation is largely mecha creation. There are some important choices to be made in defining your character, but the larger choices are in customizing your mecha. Those choices are relatively limited at creation, but broaden out dramatically as the character levels. Character progression is basically level based, but they are "license levels" that have an in-universe analog.
The universe of Lancer is an interesting one as well. Ubiquitous industrial scale 3D printers make building, repairing, and modifying your mecha a simple thing to do. A large utopian government controlling things at the center of civilization, but outside of that core are worlds with differing levels of dystopia. I could go on about the setting quite a bit, but the result for the game is that you can adjust the level of moral grayness based on what your group prefers, from amoral mercenaries doing dirty deeds dirt cheap, to paladins of justice smiting villainous adversaries, all without changing the core setting assumptions.
March 29, 2024
It's fun and different to have a change from 5e!
People say that 5e is about combat, but boy does it have nothing on Lancer. Interestingly, a lot of people say that Lancer is crunchier than 5e, but I haven't actually found it to be wildly hard going, although I could just be merrily playing cheerfully badly with no idea whatsoever.
Combat is definitely better than 5e, but the games I have played the whole session has just been one long combat, and that can definitely be a bit wearing.
The tone and lore of the game is great, even if I am not entirely convinced that it's 100% coherent throughout. The art in the book is great, although they layout isn't the best I have seen (I am a _real_ snob about that though).
I don't have a wide range of experience with non-5e RPGs, but I would say that if you fancy something involving Sci-Fi, fancy robots, and a struggle for utopia, then definitely give Lancer a go.
Oh also, the central planet of the "Trade Baronies" is called "Karakis", which I found a bit on the nose.
People say that 5e is about combat, but boy does it have nothing on Lancer. Interestingly, a lot of people say that Lancer is crunchier than 5e, but I haven't actually found it to be wildly hard going, although I could just be merrily playing cheerfully badly with no idea whatsoever.
Combat is definitely better than 5e, but the games I have played the whole session has just been one long combat, and that can definitely be a bit wearing.
The tone and lore of the game is great, even if I am not entirely convinced that it's 100% coherent throughout. The art in the book is great, although they layout isn't the best I have seen (I am a _real_ snob about that though).
I don't have a wide range of experience with non-5e RPGs, but I would say that if you fancy something involving Sci-Fi, fancy robots, and a struggle for utopia, then definitely give Lancer a go.
Oh also, the central planet of the "Trade Baronies" is called "Karakis", which I found a bit on the nose.
March 2, 2021
"What lingers in the Ikadra Drift, where the
Drift’s eponymous binary stars collect the ruins of
thousands of ships in their orbit? What secrets
murmur out from the Pleiades, where the song of the
cult of MAIA echoes quiet through the bulkheads of
your ship?"
Lancer combines so many things well. Amazing world building, fantastic art, an interesting take on mechs, all the best tropes of Sci-Fi packaged around the fight for social justice, and the promise of a really fun RPG campaign. I cannot wait to play this!
Drift’s eponymous binary stars collect the ruins of
thousands of ships in their orbit? What secrets
murmur out from the Pleiades, where the song of the
cult of MAIA echoes quiet through the bulkheads of
your ship?"
Lancer combines so many things well. Amazing world building, fantastic art, an interesting take on mechs, all the best tropes of Sci-Fi packaged around the fight for social justice, and the promise of a really fun RPG campaign. I cannot wait to play this!
June 25, 2024
Looks great, excited to try it.
Although, I can already see some problems - for example: no initiative rolls; mech preparation is done during the game after the briefing; the players, not the GM decide if they can get a skill check bonus (!);
The concept sounds fun as hell, but I imagine some homerules may be required so that the game doesn't fall apart.
The art is amazing though. Really wanna read "Kill 6 Billion Demons" after this
Although, I can already see some problems - for example: no initiative rolls; mech preparation is done during the game after the briefing; the players, not the GM decide if they can get a skill check bonus (!);
The concept sounds fun as hell, but I imagine some homerules may be required so that the game doesn't fall apart.
The art is amazing though. Really wanna read "Kill 6 Billion Demons" after this
December 29, 2025
Looks like a fun system to play. Some of the lore is interesting and exciting. Some is boring as boring could be. Tends towards leftist and utopian ideals. Which isn’t bad per se, but the authors like to bash on conservatives. Shame, cause that part is a tad off putting. Everyone should be able to partake in a utopian society, one would think. Anyway, still looks interesting and I hope to craft adventures in it some day.
February 2, 2023
I normally don't list RPG books on here, but LANCER has some of the most dense and evocative lore of any game I've picked up in years. I spent enough hours poring over this book trying to parse the setting that I think this counts.
August 27, 2024
Stylish and interesting. It focuses so heavily on its crunchy combat system that its downtime/freeplay sections are addressed with a passive hand wave. Im curious how campaigns develop narratively, because my current appreciation for the game makes me look at more like a board game than a rpg.
June 12, 2020
A good mech RPG is rare. I must try this.
November 24, 2020
Look I basically read it
more than you have
more than you have
March 21, 2023
This sounds like an awesome RPG to play, and was a great read owing to the wealth of fascinating and well-developed lore. The awesome art throughout the book also helps.
August 14, 2024
I am in love with this book. It creates a template for the perfect blend of narrative-rules light play alongside crunchy more Gamified mech combat. Cannot recommend enough.
March 7, 2025
Insane lore
August 4, 2020
First encountered the book through the podcast "Character Creation Cast". It is a good example of how to do a smart adaptation of the mech genre for a role playing game. The rules are clear and easily understood. Lots of interesting ideas and concepts that are easy to grab and go for a fun game.
Read
February 27, 2019A very interesting ruleset, and one I'd be interested to use - I look forward to a full release, the beta incredibly detailed and good value (since it's free) though.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews