One of the best SF RPGs.
Heavy Gear is a great game -- both in its rules system, which is simple and easy to pick up, and its background and story material. The main rulebook comes with a full set of rules for both the RPG and the tactical combat game, plus a good amount of detail on a likely setting for an RPG (Peace River), and a slightly smaller section on the world as a whole (which is expanded on in the Life on Terra Nova sourcebook that can be purchased separately, and is also excellently written).
Heavy Gear takes place 4000 years in the future, on the colony world of Terra Nova. Heavy Gears are one-man mecha, something between an infantryman and a tank. The planet is divided into two polar leagues separated by a vast desert known as the Badlands, poised on the brink of war after years of uneasy peace. The game has an ongoing storyline that leads from this starting point and is continued with storybooks and through the sourcebooks. The storyline is planned out in advance, which gives it a great leg up on other games.
One note -- the computer games and cartoon should not be used to judge the pen and paper game; the computer games are not really in the best spirit of the game and the cartoon...has nothing to do with the pen and paper game other than the name really.
In addition to the rulebook, you will probably want to hunt down the Life on Terra Nova sourcebook if you plan to run an RPG game (or if you're just interested in reading more about the game world).
A Game Fit for Kings
The year is 1934... 1934 TN, that is - make that 6132 AD, or thereabouts. The planet is Terra Nova, one of several planets colonized by mankind after it survived a minor ice age and discovered a net of space anomalies connecting about a dozen planets. Unfortunately the Earth government collapsed some centuries back and left the colonies to fend for themselves...
On Terra Nova, a planet without oceans divided into two hemispheres by an inhospitable desert girdle, several nations have developped since that time. The southern nations have been subjugated by the Southern Republic, which in turn caused the northern nations to band together for their own protection. Now these two power blocks, armed to the teeth, are gearing up for war once more, with the unhappy inhabitants of the desert Badlands in the middle, seeing their home become a battleground.
And then there's the fascist Earth regime, come back to claim its own...This is the Rulebook for the Heavy Gear system, Dream Pod 9's most exciting and best game system ever. At the core of it all is a game engine called the "Silhouette" system, a well thought out system of rules equally useful for roleplaying and tactical combat, for simulating space, submarine or ground environments.
HG offers you the opportunity to step into the future and see the world through the eyes of the inhabitants of mankind's new home, wether you want to do classical roleplaying or fast paced mechanical combat, or both at the same time.
The rulebook is very well written and contains lots of examples illustrating the realistic, yet easy to understand and use rules system. Talking of illustrations... those are there as well, *lots* of them, and very well done, too.
But you get more than just a bunch of rules. At the beginning there's a gorgeous colour section showing the planetary system and a world map, followed by a short but thorough introduction to the world of Terra Nova, covering the various nations and regions. There's even a short source book on Peace River, a huge desert city/arcology/weapons factory, allowing you to start playing right away if you wish to.
Of course you get the necessary character creation rules, an exhaustive list of skills, some equipment and weapons, and rules for interaction, skill tests and, of course, combat. You also get archetypes and some animals to populate the wilderness, not to forget the enigmatic desert nomads known as Sand Riders...
Plus you get the complete tactical combat rules, if you like that kind of thing. If you prefer hex-maps or miniature games is entirely left to you. The Silhouette system allows you every imaginable freedom while covering all the necessary aspects.
Some people have called Heavy Gear the heir of Battletech (you know, the combat game with all those giant robots... what serious Heavy Gear fans refer to as "that other game"). Fact is, HG is much, much more.
The trademark of the game is the Gear, a roughly humanoid combat machine of the future - but that 's where the similarity ends. The tactical system is hugely superior to that of BT, allowing for opportunity fire, sensor detection, communication and ECM, while the roleplaying system is not just an afterthought, but an inherent part of the game (if you want to, the main part - if not, it's a nice background. Your choice.)
HG is incredibly detailed (there's a huge range of sourcebooks, covering every imaginable aspect, if you feel like it - but you don't need them if you don't want) and quite realistic, plus it's got an overarcing background story similar to Babylon 5. And there's no need to read through stacks of badly written novels. Conflic is certainly a constand of the HG universe, but the system doesn't force you to concentrate on war, like the other game did, but allows you to explore the future any way you like.
In short, HG is my favorite game of all times. And I've tried out quite a number.
If you like Sci-Fi, you'll love this game...
This hardcover edition of Dream Pod Nine's Heavy Gear Role Playing and Tactical Game was one of my first pruchase of the game line.It was money well spent.
The book itself sports quality binding and paper. The printing is clear, legible and easy on the eyes. There is plenty of excellent content, spiced generously with outstanding pen art.
Even if not a fan of Role Playing and Tactical Miniatures Gaming, Sci-Fi fans will enjoy a depiction of a futuristic colony world both at war with imperialistic conquerors and with itself.
It is a stark, hard sci-fi story of human settlers that have braved harsh desert conditions, isolated from the rest of humanity and struggling not only for suvival, but also for cultural identity.
Role Play and Tactical Game Players will also find Heavy Gear to be a refreshing change of pace from the tired Sword and Sorcery Genre. And, they will find this high quality rulebook to be a perfect collectors and players peice in any library.
Enjoy!
An excellent SF RPG
Heavy Gear is one of the best SF roleplaying games in existence. It combines an incredibly rich setting, an overarching storyline that rivals Babylon 5 for depth and complexity and a simple, flexible and intuitive rules system for roleplaying and tactical combat. Some people may already be somewhat familiar with the Heavy Gear setting through either the Activision Heavy Gear computer games or the Heavy Gear animated series. For those who are not, a brief synopsis:
Heavy Gear takes place in the 62nd century. The action primarily takes place on the colony world of Terra Nova. A harsh and beautiful world, it has also been wracked by conflict. Two decades ago, Earth attempted to reclaim her wayward offspring in the War of the Alliance, a devastating conflict which briefly united the major Terranovan powers against the invaders. However, this hard won unity quickly fell by the wayside as old conflicts reemerged. Terra Nova is once again on the brink of war.
The conflict will be fought with the game's namesake, the Heavy Gear. A native Terranovan development, these fifteen-foot tall humanoid combat machines provided a rude shock to the invading Earth forces two decades before. While Gears are the game?s centerpiece, they are not the be-all end-all of combat on Terra Nova. Tanks, artillery, aircraft, landships and even larger walking machines called striders provide additional speed and firepower.
If tactical combat isn't your thing, the Heavy Gear setting provides a wide variety of options for less militaristic adventuring. Divisions between and among the major powers present opportunities for espionage political intrigue. On the other hand, many areas of Terra Nova are still very much part of the frontier, where individuals can make a difference and make their fortunes by their own actions. The setting is so vast and detailed that the possibilities are limitless.
While the main rulebook is all you need to play, the game?s publisher, Dream Pod 9, has published an extensive array of supplements detailing every aspect of Terra Nova, along with sourcebooks covering the technology, vehicles and spacecraft of this future setting. Recently, they have moved beyond Terra Nova itself and have begun covering Earth?s other colony worlds. However, the most interesting aspect of the Heavy Gear line is the Storyline Books. In addition to its rich backstory, the Heavy Gear setting has a Babylon 5 like 20-year story arc. Each storyline book moves the game?s history along by a few years. The basic setting described in the main rulebook is complex enough to provide an enormous amount of adventuring, using the storyline books provides the opportunity to set an RPG campaign in a living, breathing world with a constantly unfolding history.
In short, Heavy Gear is one of the best, most innovative roleplaying games out there. I would highly recommend that anyone pick it up.
Heavy Gear and the Silhouette System ROCKS
This book and the system it represents is one of the most complete and well-realized (not to mention REALLY well supported) items in my game library (now teetering at 175 different titles...woah). When I want to get someone into a new, easily explained tactical or RPG setting, Heavy Gear always comes to mind.
This book is just the tip of the iceberg: Dream Pod Nine makes a huge number of sourcebooks and miniatures and they are consistently engaging.
Do I love this book? i love this book. Do I love this game? You betcha. Go to the Dream Pod 9 site ... and get a taste. then get back here and grab this book.
