I'm not really sure I can "show the awesome" of the Robotech RPG; save to say maybe two things about it.  First, like a few other licensed RPGs, Robotech works best if you aren't looking at it as a loyal interpretation of the tv series but as its own entity; in particular the descriptions of the setting that go far beyond anything covered by the show create an environment perfect for that type of adventuring.

Second, it obviously helps if you look at it through the eyes of someone for whom it was the first sci-fi RPG they ever played or ran.

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Quote from: Settembrini;461585I have recently succumbed to Elliot's mild pressure and watched the whole of Robotech, also got me many Robotech RPG books.
I must say though, that I find the RPG material to be a mixed bag. Mostly stuff is statted out and not in a highly inspiring way.
The RDF training manual is pretty good for adventure material, as well as Strike Force Nine and New World Order. Both three do not capture the Robotech feel in my eyes, but are great with Mechwarrior/Battletech

This.  I watched the original series as a kid and I am a big fan of the Robotech Universe.  I think, however as Settembrini said it just doesnt capture the feel.

While I like Mechwarrior and Battletech I actually had to go a different direction to get the Mecha look and feel I was looking for.  But that's a different thread.

Who was the GM for your early Robotech exploits, and what did he get out of the books in terms of prepping/ad-hocing adventures?

Quote from: Settembrini;462176Who was the GM for your early Robotech exploits, and what did he get out of the books in terms of prepping/ad-hocing adventures?

There was a group of us, at first we rotated who GMed, though after a while, I ended up becoming permanent GM when the others agreed that I ran the best adventures.

The default starting setting of the book (just after the end of the Macross saga) had a shitload of material to it.  The RDF Manual, The Training Guide, Ghost Ship, etc. we made use of all of those.  Later on, sourcebooks like New World Order and Zentraedi Breakout were even better at detailing the nature of the setting with its hard-sf post-apocalyptic feel.  The random tables in most of those books I named are awesome for encounters and crafting adventures out of them.  

The Sentinels, meanwhile, is a great setting for star-trek-style galactic adventure, especially if you figure out that basically you have an entire galaxy you can put into the setting aside from the provided aliens and whatnot.  And Southern Cross and Invid Invasion, though they never got the same level of setting coverage, are very rich settings as well.

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Hmm.  I've never played a PB game, but RIFTS is the only RPG book I've ever bought because it "looked awesome" from the setting bits and the art, completely in spite of knowing nothing about the system.  Very few RPGs have lured me in on premise alone.

I don't know if that counts for anything, but even if I never run RIFTS BtB, it's definitely a gold-mine for crazy over-the-top stuff, because you can tell the author doesn't give a fuck about anything other than having fun.

Quote from: RPGPundit;462285There was a group of us, at first we rotated who GMed, though after a while, I ended up becoming permanent GM when the others agreed that I ran the best adventures.

The default starting setting of the book (just after the end of the Macross saga) had a shitload of material to it.  The RDF Manual, The Training Guide, Ghost Ship, etc. we made use of all of those.  Later on, sourcebooks like New World Order and Zentraedi Breakout were even better at detailing the nature of the setting with its hard-sf post-apocalyptic feel.  The random tables in most of those books I named are awesome for encounters and crafting adventures out of them.  

The Sentinels, meanwhile, is a great setting for star-trek-style galactic adventure, especially if you figure out that basically you have an entire galaxy you can put into the setting aside from the provided aliens and whatnot.  And Southern Cross and Invid Invasion, though they never got the same level of setting coverage, are very rich settings as well.

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that is pretty much exactly how Robotech was for me. It wasn't my introduction to RPG's but it was the first RPG I bought and played regularly. I didn't care that it didn't capture the feel of the show so much as it was an awesome setting on its own. Plus, at the time, I could barely remember the show anyway. Never cared for Southern Cross at all, and I never owned or really got a chance to look at Invid Invasion.

Palladium is the first system where I learned a very important fact that seems to be lost nowadays -- the GM is very important in how much fun a game will be.  System doewn't matter too much.

I played RIFTS twice in my life.  The one campaign sucked because the GM wanted us to be badass military guys gunning everything that moves down.  we tried to actually think -- he wasn't down with that.

The second RIFTS campaign was incredible.  Great GM.  We spent some seesions barely rolling dice.  Very cool.

I also played NIGHTBANE  (I bought it titled NIGHT SPAWN).  Very interesting GM, but he was basically taking a break from running WoD and quickly shifted over to that system, so I left the group.

To answer your question RIFTS with a good GM and possibly SPLICERS (I never played it yet, but it looks good.)

My favorite one would be Rifts, despite the giant mess that it is (both in base rules as well as setting and rules bloat from supplements).

Next would probably be Palladium Fantasy 1, a far better game than AD&D 1e IMO.

But I have to agree - the TMNT game was probably the best thing they ever produced.  It was tight, is was very complete, it was cheap, and it was just plain cool (despite a subject matter that could have easily been awful).  I'd also argue it is hands-down the best licensed product ever produced in the history of RPGs.  

It had some cool supplements, too (space, time travel, post-apocalyptic), but without bloating the system.  Not to mention the expandability you could get by adding Ninjas and Superspies (a great game in its own right) or Heroes Unlimited (although HU is arguably Palladium's worst game).

RIFTS is certainly my second-favorite.

RPGPundit

Robotech works best either between Macross & Southern Cross (hunting down Zentraedi Malcontents on Earth and nearby space), or with a galaxy-spanning Sentinels campaign, IMHO.

Both are very different games for me, too. Malcontents era has much more a "dark" theme, with a lot of political intrigue playing between the RDF, SC, EBSIS (one of the good additions Palladium added), and Loyalist and Rebel Zentraedi. In many ways, I pattern it after my favorite Gundam series, "08th MS Team", with flawed individuals and patchwork mecha.

Sentinels is classic space opera for me. Freedom to go just about anywhere, but still able to rest on the initial premise (and ultimately, freeing the galaxy from Invid occupation).

That's basically it for me.  earthbound Robotech is hardcore political/military sci-fi, and Sentinels is, like I said, Star Trek with Mecha.

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