YORKTON - When we think of role playing games we tend to immediately land upon Dungeons & Dragons, and that is understandable as it is more or less the granddad of RPGs.
There may have been earlier RPG efforts but when D&D was published in 1974 it really became foundational to all roll play gaming.
But D&D has not been the only RPG – there have literally been hundreds.
And, the fantasy world which is D&D is not the only offering for RPGers either.
Enter Dream Pod 9, and its Heavy Gear RPG.
There is so much to say about this company and its dedication to quality gaming.
To start, Dream Pod is based in Montreal, and it is always great to offer up good words about things Canadian.
So, DP9’s most notable products are Heavy Gear, Jovian Chronicles, Tribe 8, and Gear Krieg.
Among those Heavy Gear might be the most recognized, and in the case of this article is at its core. In 1995, the Dream Pod 9 team released the first edition of Heavy Gear, their first role playing and combat game.
The RPG was recently released in a fourth edition format raising just over $100K via Kickstarter for the rather extensive update, revision and re-release.
While today most games finding what is essentially a ‘game community’ loan for production costs on every game that is headed to market, when one looks at the vast library of material for Heavy Gear which was largely created pre-crowdfunding it speaks to the dedication and effort DP9 put into the product.
If you have ever seen DP9 miniatures, or leafed through one of their previous edition books you will know the quality is high.
The minis are great and the book art always sharp and engaging.
So any update is going to be well-done, and while such things can be annoying for players with extensive libraries of earlier editions, updates do patch holes, tweak rules, (although not always for the better), and provide an entry point for a new generation of players.
On the chance readers have not heard of Heavy Gear it is a science fiction franchise. As noted the first edition of the role playing game debuted in 1995 and it has since expanded to include many other products including the Heavy Gear Blitz tabletop wargame and hundreds of pewter, resin and plastic miniatures for the game.
According to the Kickstarter campaign page, “Heavy Gear has always been noteworthy for its focus on Geo-political landscapes, interpersonal drama, the politics within nations and the inevitable debris such concerns leave behind. All of this to the backdrop of a hard science fiction military universe. Major battles and world wars play out alongside stories about life in the various nations. All aspects of the world are as fleshed out as the military aspects viewers would expect from a military themed world.
“Heavy Gear is set in the 62nd century where humanity has expanded from Earth to 9 colonies. Economic strain, political unrest and security concerns forced Earth to abandon its colonies. In the wake of this withdrawal, each colony was left to fend for itself. Scattered and isolated, each one formed its own governments, culture, and society. Nations rose and fell as new histories were written without the influence of Earth. Earth, however, recognized its mistake and now seeks to reconquer its wayward children and one of their primary objectives is the world of Terra Nova. Terra Nova is a hot, resource rich world that is home to numerous city-states, most of whom are members of its various leagues. These leagues, and the alliances they form, have been rivals since Earth’s withdrawal. Wars have been fought and deep seeded hatreds formed. It was these wars that saw the development of the "Heavy Gear" combat walker platform or just gears for short. At approximately 4-5 meters tall, gears offer an intermediate system between tanks and infantrymen. An invasion by Earth forced the inhabitants of Terra Nova to put aside their differences and push back against the invaders, and they won. Earth’s invasion was defeated although at great cost. Soon after this victory, the alliances fell apart and old rivalries came back with a vengeance. Over 20 years have passed and now Earth is ready for round two. Bolstered by forces from other subjugated colonies, Earth has carved out a beachhead on Terra Nova. The people of Terra Nova must once again join forces or be destroyed.”
So this is a world far from sword and sorcery fantasy.
It is also a rather diverse world to explore, and that is always a key element of an RPG. Players want a diverse world with countless stories to be told and experienced, and when you look at the book shelf-worth of material created and now updated for Heavy Gear you get it all here.
The Heavy Gear 4th Ed RPG Rule book is complete with a massive page count of near 500.
The new rule book includes everything players and game masters need to play the game.
“The book also contains a detailed history of the Heavy Gear world, core game rules, character creation and a massive library of gears, vehicles, and equipment to use in the game. The new edition calls back to the beloved 2nd Edition, while also presenting Heavy Gear to a modern audience,”details the Kickstarter page. “It focuses heavily on role playing and storytelling while keeping its crunchy combat systems.”
What is extra interesting is that the game creators went the distance to create the Silhouette d6 system, which of course takes some adjusting too, but again speaks to how involved in creating something rather unique they have been through the years.
So what does it all mean?
Well if you play RPGs and want something a bit different, something that has been refreshed and streamlined, and just happens to be from a Canadian company as a bonus, then pop over to dp9.com and check this one out.
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