A downloadable project

Hidden in the Sierra Madre line, twelve lightyears from the nearest blinkgate, is a jewel.

In the last days before the Second Committee fell, a final wave of colonies was scattered across Union. They developed in isolation; lost to the reaches of time and space. Twin colonies rose in lockstep sheltered in the solitary system of Quetzal's Flight, . First brothers and then enemies, Castor and Pollux leapt to war in their greed over the system's mineral wealth – until the unthinkable happened.  A catastrophic stellar event left Castor scorched and unlivable, and ended the war before it could start. Their twin left for dead, Pollux became the sole inheritor of Quetzal's Flight.

Now over a century later Pollux is a plutocratic paradise petitioning for Union recognition. However, on their erstwhile twin, long-quiet forces stir. Castor's survivors rebuilt society from bunkers and caves under the radioactive waste of their home. Now they are set to reignite the war that never was; desperate for survival, raging at their abandonment, they hope to strike Pollux down before it can do the same to them. It is in this moment, the last days before the war begins, that this field guide is set.

The Field Guide to Castor and Pollux is an unofficial homebrew supplement for LANCER, the mech RPG by Miguel Lopez and Tom Parkinson Morgan. It contains:

  •  A setting guide to the Quetzal's Flight system, including major factions, notable NPCs, and landmark locations across the system.
  • A downtime action for players to obtain and upgrade a spaceworthy ship.
  • Four new talents for players to choose from the fortification-focused Architect to the versatile mines of the Sapper.
  • A new mech manufacturer: Pinnacle Industries - Orion Faction. Colony builders now turned to military manufacturing, PI-OF's offerings are a mix of rugged retrofits with cutting-edge miltech as they turn their sizable assets to R&D. Their catalog contains 6 new core bonuses and 8 mechs. Pilots can pick from the flying, electromagnetic defense of the Lemongrass, the sturdy construction tools of the Star Anise, the robotic beast-mastery of the Fennel, and more.
  • One new mech from each of Lancer's Big 4 manufacturers. Draw in foes with the captivating flames of saintly HORUS Couatl; play the eye-in-the-sky with IPS-N's sniper/spotter Pharos; slip into corporate espionage and disruption with the esoterically adept SSC Sicklewing; and burn hot and glorious in the HA Tametomo, a plasma-wreathed martyr.
  • 6 new NPC classes and one new NPC template to diversify encounters and represent some of the groups in Quetzal's Flight. Smoke out fortifications with the Vector's punishing lances,  break through battlelines with the disruptive Grenadier, and harass strikers with the speedy Interceptor.
  • An lcp file containing all player material and NPCs for use with COMP/CON.

This project would not be possible without the support of the PilotNET Discord – thank you all so much! I can be found there as @hellaspooks#2744 for questions and feedback. Content may change or expand as I get feedback and further develop the setting. Thank you for playing!

The wheel of the galaxy turns inexorable.

Quetzal’s Flight is one grain of sand amidst millions; one spark of humanity in the great bonfire of Union. It teeters at the edge of oblivion, of washing away into the great rushing darkness. There is no certain fate – only the unknown, the moment, the weight of one foot on the scales before the collapse.

Where do you stand, pilot?

StatusIn development
CategoryOther
Rating
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
(13 total ratings)
AuthorHellaspooks
Tagslancer, lancerrpg, mecha, Tactical RPG, Tabletop role-playing game

Download

Download
CASTOR & POLLUX-2.45.lcp 69 kB
Download
Field Guide_ Castor and Pollux 2.45.pdf 10 MB

Development log

Comments

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Deleted 1 year ago

In the long run - yes! But, at the end of the day, this is a personally project I make on my own time and budget, and good artists deserve good pay, so it will likely be a while before all of the frames have art.

Deleted 1 year ago

Heyo. Just reading through this, I noticed both in COMP/CON the Couatl doesnt actually have a trigger for 'my plumage is the most beautiful'. At current it reads: 

"1/Round when a hostile character within Sensors and line of sight, the Couatl may use its reaction to force them to make a Systems save", so it isn't clear what the trigger for this is, eg: if its when a hostile character begins their turn in line of sight, attacks an ally within line of sight etc.

Thanks! There’s actually a few other small errors in the lcp right now too - I’ve been collecting them while I finish some other updates which should be done in the next week or so. For the moment, the PDF should have the correct versions of everything as it’s what I work on first before moving to the lcp.

(+1)

I downloaded the PDF yesterday to check and it actually shares the same error, it was the first thing I checked trying to cobble some theory builds together. 

(+2)

Hello! I really enjoyed reading over the content and would like to use it for an upcoming rpg real play series I'm turning into a podcast. I couldn't find any legalese on your profile regarding this. Would you be ok with me featuring your content under the same rules/regulations as Massif Press? Thanks!

(+1)

I'm absolutely alright with that! All I'd really want is for you to put a link back to this itch page somewhere, but I'd truly be honored if you did. If you go ahead with this plan, I'd love to hear how the material plays, that kind of live feedback is invaluable!

(+1)

I'm really excited to hear that! Thank you. I'll absolutely be plugging your work throughout. I've only got a trailer/intro made atm, but the name is "Latchkey Lancers," on spotify/patreon. Please, by all means, let me know what feedback you have as we move forward with this project. The respective email is latchkeylancers@gmail.com.

Hello! This is just a follow up to our previous conversation regarding the podcast. I wanted to let you know that the podcast is up and getting regularly updated (to the best of my ability) with episodes. We have 4 episodes up at the moment with more on the way. The audio production is (hopefully) getting better each episode as I learn how to better use adobe audition but the players and I are really enjoying the content thusfar. I haven't found the time to review the updates to the content yet but will hopefully be able to do that soon. The series is called "Latchkey Lancers," and can be found on spotify and apple podcasts. Please feel free to email latchkeylancers@gmail.com with any feedback!

That's amazing! I'm still a little flabbergasted to see someone using my content in such a big way, but I'm excited to carve out some time to listen to it myself in the next few days!

(+1)

I don't have any feedback on actual mechanics or anything, but for the lcp, I recommend adding the "no image data" art used by the Everest and such to all the mechs here that don't have their own art yet. Also, the PI-OF mechs are all listed in alphabetical order, except for the Anise, which is listed at the bottom

(+1)

Oh good idea, adding that would make it much better visually! And yeah, the Anise being where it is is semi-intentional – it was the last PI-OF mech I made, and is meant to deliver a slightly different message, if that makes sense? It's the end of the story you get across the other licenses, and I think putting it at the front (although it would make sense) gives it a different impact.