Robomeck RPG: Social Interaction

Robomeck RPG Index

Social Interaction

For all my effort in writing out the mecka stats, this is not just a giant robot combat game.  It is a simulation of an 80’s giant robot show.  What that means is that what happens outside of the robot is as important, if not more than, what happens inside of the robot.  If you think back on the show, a good deal of the most memorable moments were the Character moments, not just the scenes where things bulged and then exploded.  (Those were great too, of course.)  Simply, this game will fail as an RPG if you’re just running it for giant robot combat scenarios (though that might be fun too, but in a different way).

The Player Characters should have meaningful interactions with each other, with the NPC’s that they know inside and outside of their military organization, and even with enemies that they might not meet face-to-face for several sessions.  Players will want to because it will make the game more involving and, probably more importantly, it will pay XP.   

Let’s look at some of the main Character relationships from the show.

Lt. Richard Huntsman

No parents or siblings shown other than “Pops” who ran an air show.

Goals: Defend the earth from the Zee, be with Ling Ling, be with Mise, thrust into a leadership role with subordinates

Character Links:

          Lt. Cmdr. Ronald Messerschmitt-“Big Brother,” commanding officer who was involved with a bridge officer, died in combat, inherited his mecka, Richard has to take over his command as well

          Cpl. Max Silver-subordinate, better pilot, involved with an enemy ace, Richard has to figure out what to do about that      

          Pvt. Benjamin DOA-subordinate, died under his command, Richard has to deal with this

          Cmdr. Mise Haysa-commanding bridge officer, romantic entanglement (somewhat inexplicable)

          Ling Ling-would be girlfriend, famous, Richard has trouble getting time with her and any commitment

          Ling Kyle-romantic rival for Mise and Ling Ling (neither of which makes any sense), ideologue opposed to military, better hand-to-hand fighter, more charismatic, Richard has to prove to be more mature and sensible than his rival

          Cmdr. Maitai-enemy commander turned ally, Richard has to earn his respect

          Cmdr. Centaurus-implacable, psychopathic enemy commander, goes after Richard personally, Richard has to defeat him

         

Lt. Daena Silver

Half-alien background (subject to prejudice and has to prove herself), parents left her on earth (abandonment issues?), has two siblings, meets little sister in a psychic vision (didn’t meet her in the movie, which was a missed opportunity, but they did meet in the comic book prequel in an unsatisfactory fashion), unnamed little brother (they tried to explain this away in the books, but it’s a true loose end)

Goals: Stop the Overlords’ invasion, unlock the mystery of Qor, thrust into a leadership role

Character Links:

          General Bell Howell-father figure, commanding officer, Daena needs to earn his respect and confidence (which is hard, because she’s kind of ditzy)

          Pvt. Davie Grant-also left behind on earth by parents, friend, subordinate, involved with an alien, Daena has to deal with his insubordination at times

          Sgt. Jesus Dante-subordinate, second in command, by the book guy, big brother-ish or unrequited romantic entanglement (it was hard to tell between those two), certainly a rival or obstacle to being with Qor, Daena has to deal with him undermining her authority and being jealous of Qor

          Cpl. Luis Nicholas-genius subordinate (one questions why he was in a frontline combat unit, as he would be way more valuable in a support role), Daena has to get the most out of his technological work, while quelling his ethical concerns

          Pvt. Sam Phillips-subordinate, but former commanding officer (the show never made much of that), involved with professional rival (Maria), Daena has to show her subordinates that she’s a good officer too and not let Sam undercut her

          Qor-captured alien enemy ace, amnesiac, romantic entanglement, Daena is trying to figure him out and seduce him

          Supreme Commander Elmore-commanding officer, hates aliens (like Daena), Daena has to deal with a commander that she can’t impress with her abilities or accomplishments

          Lt. Maria Jade-officer in Aero-Space Force, friend, professional rival, involved with one of Dana’s subordinates (Sam), Daena has to work with her while being sabotaged by her

          Lt. Aileen Satori-officer in Military Police, friend, professional rival, suspicious of everyone (part of her job), especially Davie, since he’s involved with an alien, Daena finds herself having to hide things from her

         

Lt. Cmdr. Scott Ranger

No parents or siblings mentioned, born off earth (maybe, who knows?  The timeline on the show is impossible)

Goals: Destroy the Hive, get revenge for lost fiancée, be with Maryann/Elsa

Character Links: 

          Maryann: fiancée, died in combat, Scott has to deal with this and it motivates all his actions on earth

          Elsa: amnesiac alien agent initially named “Maryann” after Scott’s lost love, romantic entanglement, Scott has to get over Maryann to love her (One of his rebel subordinates would also have a relationship with a Hive Humanoid warrior)

          Rebel group: commands a collection of non-regular forces (including a transvestite and a loud-mouthed kid, WTF!), they take orders conditionally and Scott has no means to coerce them, Scott has to show he’s a competent commander and that they should follow him in their common goal of driving off the Hive

          Subjugated Humanity on earth: these people are mostly beaten and only fight against each other over what’s left, Scott either has to motivate these people or keep from getting betrayed to the Hive by them

          Zorg: implacable enemy ace (not much was made of this relationship on the show, Zorg could have been a noble enemy, loyal to the Hive, but not necessarily a human extermination-ist), Scott has to stop his homicidal schemes    

You still think the show was just about giant robots?

         

Let’s see what we have here: romance with people inside and outside of the military and even with the enemy, professional rivals, hostile commanders, personal rivals in romance, enemy rivals, inter-group conflict, deceased comrades (superior and subordinate), missing parents, sole survivor/background isolation.  That’s just looking at the three main Characters!

 

Notice how some Characters have goals that work in direct opposition to each other, such as the consistent theme of “loving the enemy.”  That’s not a mistake.  That’s Character building.  The Ref should take whatever the Players give them in Character beliefs and set up situations that challenge those beliefs.  Feel free to give the Characters conflicted loyalties.  Keep in mind, some members of the alien forces have these same problems.  They are repressing human emotions and trying to stay loyal to their cause.   

Rivalries made up a lot of tension on the show.  A rivalry would be people on your own side that you’re having a conflict with.  They may have conflicting goals and ideals and might even just have personal grudges.  This is an enemy you cannot fight like you do the alien enemy.  Daena had some petty and some legitimate inter-service rivalries.  Not to mention, her and her troops ended up in the middle of her superior officers feuding.  Scott had conflict inside his group, not to mention conflict with the people they were trying to liberate.  Poor Richard, not only were both of his love interests enamored with another guy, this guy hated the military (who were protecting all of them) and later become an alien rights activist.  (Oh, and he could have kicked Richard’s ass in a fight too!)       

Politics were mostly in the background for Space War I and II (and I’d say should have been featured in the EEF’s civilian Oversight Council with the fleet as they made several very important decisions).  If the Characters have some connections or even ambitions, there’s no reason that politics couldn’t be much more prominent (other than we get enough of this in real life).  Certainly the commanders in charge of the conflict are going to be under intense political pressure, which will influence their strategic decision-making (which will filter right down to the Characters).

We can add situations that weren’t in the show too of course.  What about dealing with an NPC (or even a Character) who is an actual Proto-Flower addict.  They have some minor psychic powers, but are always looking for their next hit.  What if a Character is married with kids (cheating spouse, tempted by someone else, teen kids getting trouble, known family problems could be used against them by rivals).  Maybe the Character could have overbearing parents interfering with their lives (actually Mise’s father could qualify as that).  How about the media or even social media?  What if the Characters cross paths with hostile reporters or snarky social media mavens who are undermining the military or the rebellion?  (I think that little seen theatrical movie had a plot involving a reporter.)   

I hope this section impresses upon you how important personal relationships were on the show and gives you some ideas for the personal side of the campaign (otherwise I’ve wasted a bunch of time here). 

Relationships

Ideally, if the game group is on board with playing this game, the first session should decide on the era and general setting.  The Players should make up their Characters and relationships with each other, personal relations (like parents, siblings, friends, relatives, object of desire, boy/girlfriend, lover, spouse, children), and professional relationships (subordinates, superior officers, other personnel like mechanics or the quartermaster, even your bartender). 

The Players should make some suggestions about what their Characters would like to accomplish and what kind of NPC’s they’d like to interact with.  The Ref should take this information and twist it in the worst possible way and use that to make up the first adventure session.  (Well, maybe not that extreme, but are these Players really your friends?)  The Ref actually shouldn’t make the relationships difficult, but should make them interesting.  The Ref can set the nature of the relationship for example: trouble, an enemy, helpful support, attraction, love, a rival, and whatever else.

All Characters should start with at least three initial relationships: one with a squad member, one with a military member outside of the PC group, and one with someone outside the military (a personal relationship).  The Ref will present new NPC’s for possible relationships during play and the Players can choose to further interact with them as they will.  Players are free to set goals with their initial relationships and state goals with new NPC’s they meet (or not).   

Remember that relationships go both ways and will inevitably come with strings.  If the Players create an NPC attachment for their Characters, the NPC might come calling for favors too.  Maintaining and advancing any relationship will also require some effort.  Loved ones will make demands on your time.  Some NPC’s may be a bad influence and get your Character in trouble.  What if a love interest is actually obsessed with your Character?  Worst of all, if your personal relationships interfere with your flight duties or rebel missions, you could get grounded or booted from the group.  So, be careful in choosing your associations.