Neon Genesis Evangelion and Star Wars inspired this mech roleplaying game
Get in the rulebook, Shinji.
A roleplaying game inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion and Star Wars has its own Kickstarter campaign.
Called Last Sentinels, the upcoming roleplaying game sees players all controlling a single protagonist, a civilian who manages to escape a terrible tragedy on their home planet and must fight against hostiles The game’s protagonist used to live a peaceful life on Augur-V, before it was besieged by overwhelming enemy forces and they were forced to escape on a starship. Now, the players’ character must defend their people using a sentinel, a humanoid mech that has the capability of wielding weapons and dodging around enemy attacks with surprising agility. Despite the players’ best efforts, however, their protagonist is doomed to fail whether by betrayal or by succumbing to the intense pressure and danger of mech combat.
As a GM-less RPG, Last Sentinels has players collaborating together on the story, with each person getting their own separate roles and responsibilities to manage. The gameplay system for Last Sentinels is based off Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at Utmost North by PH Lee – an RPG that has players becoming an order called the Knights Stellar – with players using key phrases to progress the story. Whilst everyone shares the character sheet of their protagonist, they’re also free to create various supporting characters when they see fit.
During the game, one person will be controlling the main protagonist at a time, with another person telling the story from the perspective of those forces who conspire against them. Using their key phrases, the opponents will decide the fate of both sides – interrupting each other to heighten the stakes and the drama. Eventually, the active players must either reach a compromise or must settle the scenario using a dice roll. Players can also experience an alternative version of the game wherein each person controls their own mech pilot, with the roles and responsibilities moving between players.
Last Sentinels was created by Jason Price, whose previous work includes A Complicated Profession – a sci-fi RPG that has players becoming a team of ex-bounty hunters trying to make an honest living together - as well as contributions for RPGs such as Artefact, Orbital and Bucket of Bolts. The artwork for Last Sentinels was created by Torben Bökemeyer, who has also worked on Orbital and Bucket of Bolts – with graphic design and layout from Lone Archivist and editing by Will Jobst.
The Kickstarter campaign for Last Sentinels is live until February 28th, with a pledge of £10 ($13) getting backers a copy of the physical book in July. Otherwise, backers can get a digital PDF copy for a pledge of £5 ($6).