Hashimoto - technically Hashimoto-3, but it's the only inhabited planet around its star, so it gets to have the same name - is nowhere. Almost a year of realtime away from a blink gate, with scattered mining and farming communities that barely formed a semblance of civilization between its original settlement and re-opened contact with Union's ThirdComm government, it's a backwater with a handful of souls and no economic or strategic value.

And nonetheless, they need help. The detritus of forgotten wars has drifted there, a defunct company of soldiers from the end of Union's fascistic SecComm preying on the locals for what little they have rather than facing the broader galaxy. Before these bandits arrived, the people of Hashimoto had little. Now they have almost nothing, which is what they can offer those who would, hypothetically, fight on their behalf.

That's where you come in.

You're a LANCER, a mercenary of means in the complex web of war and peace in the year 5016u. Maybe you're a rookie, just starting out. Maybe you're a jaded veteran who lost it all in an unfortunate battle. Maybe you somehow got on the wrong side of the Mirrorsmoke Mercenary Company, or the Karrakin Trade Baronies, or the normally very accommodating Union itself. Maybe you're just an idiot with a bleeding heart. Either way, when the folks of Hashimoto come to you, hat in hand, and offer you a job fighting vicious madmen lost in time and space for a fistful of manna plus room and board, despite all sense and reason, the offer is tempting...

Details

The Magnificent LANCERs is a short LANCER campaign in three acts made up by myself in loving homage to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven. I'm looking for 4-6 players (probably closer to 4 but we'll see what interest looks like) interested in a low-License Level short campaign about protecting the innocent from the violent and desperate. I expect it to run as about three "missions" charting the course of a conflict between the people of a backwater world and a gang of ex-SecComm soldiers-turned-absurdly-well-equipped-bandits.

The Game System: LANCER, by Miguel Lopez and Tom Parkinson-Morgan of Massif Press, is its own bespoke system about piloting a giant combat robot in the distant, interstellar future. It's available on itch.io and other fine online marketplaces, or I or several other people can help you out. You don't need to know the system or the setting to join; I or one of my very educated friends can explain the system, and the setting is...large.

The Game Master: Me, Nerdorama, going by Rama for short right now. I have played in one LANCER campaign and GMed none, but I like to think I'm pretty experienced with tabletop generally and want to get my feet a bit more wet with this system. Also I know one LANCER GM and he deserves a break.

The Setting: LANCER is an enormous sprawling space opera with a backstory spanning millennia and a setting spanning thousands of solar systems and a couple of nifty extra dimensions. For this short campaign, though, we're going to be dealing mainly with a single settlement on a single planet, so like, imagine a thousand square miles of Arizona, but in space.

The Player Characters: LANCERs are elite mecha-piloting mercenaries who are often deciding factors in the conflicts of the 51st century of Union. The book has dozens of examples and even more suggestions of the type of person who becomes that, but the conceit of this campaign means your player character should be at something of a low point in their career, if they have an established one at all. My plan (and I'm willing to take feedback on this) is to start characters at the default License Level 0, but fairly quickly increase in LL to reach LL3 by the end of the minicampaign. I'd like a name and some suggestion of a backstory for characters, but nothing too terribly serious.

The Medium: This game will be played on roll20 via text only. I will also have a Discord set up for out-of-character chat and discussion, and I highly recommend the use of the automated character builder at https://compcon.app.

The Schedule: I'm available to run a game in the evenings US central time any day but Saturday, currently, and can work out a flexible schedule with whoever wants to join. I expect this campaign to run at least three and no more than six sessions, which I'd like to do on a weekly basis starting some time in January.

The Plan: Fill out the form below in a comment to this post so I can figure out how this thing is going to work. <b>Name:</b> What you want to be called <b>Character Concept:</b> The idea for your pilot. Can be as detailed or sketchy as you want, but just looking for a vague pitch at this point. <b>Mecha Concept:</b> I'm starting you at LL0, but LANCERs specialize very quickly, so tell me what you want to do with your robot <b>Scheduling:</b> When are you available to play? <b>Questions:</b> Ask about the system or setting here, or complain about me starting at LL0. <b>Favorite Western or Samurai Film:</b> Self-explanatory

It's that hit idle thought from plurk two months ago, now in "I'm actually doing it" form!

STAR WARS VALOR is a campaign for Valor: The Heroic Roleplaying System that I intend to run over roll20 some time in the near future. Designed to be a timeless alternate-universe piece, it is not set in any particular era or continuity of the Star Wars franchise, but will draw on concepts from many. There are Jedi, noble knights in tune with the mystical energy field called the Force who protect the people of the Galactic Republic from the depredations of criminals, terrorists, and the strange cultists of the Dark Side of the Force. There are true believers in peace and justice and cynical politicians. There are loyal soldiers and criminals who fly on the fringe just to get by. All of them will be swept up in momentous events that will change the future of the galaxy and determine what, exactly, should determine that future. That said, this is not a game that will be faithful to any version of Star Wars canon in terms of continuity. While some characters might be familiar archetypes, there will be no canon characters or events beyond the broad strokes of the setting. Think of this as more of a sandbox where we take the concepts of Star Wars and play around with them than "A Star Wars Story".

(If you need a general sense of technology and sociopolitical situation, though, the prequel trilogy is a good place to start. Or Knights of the Old Republic if you don't get pedantic about personal energy shields.)

WHAT: Star Wars!
WHO: Me and 3-5 players
WHEN: The game will start probably some time this summer and run weekly. The actual timeslot will be determined by the availability of players.
WHERE: Roll20 dot net
WHY: Because I like taking the ideas of very capable filmmakers and putting my own spin on them because I disagree with some decisions those very capable filmmakers made.

What to do in this post: Copy the following textarea and reply with the answers, if you're interested. You can also just reply with any questions, if I've left anything unclear.

<b>Name:</b> What I should call you <b>Contact:</b> a means of contact (plurk, Discord, or both) <b>Character Concept:</b> Describe to me the Star Wars character you would like to play. Mechanical notes are optional but not discouraged, I just want to get a sense for what sort of hero you would like to play. Only restrictions are that they're someone who fits Star Wars's space opera aesthetic, and they're someone who would willingly work in some sort of group to save the galaxy, whether because it's the right thing to do, because they live there, or because someone offered them a pile of credits to do so. Feel free to bring in any canonical species, culture, or organization, or make up your own, if it fits the character better. The rules are made up and continuity doesn't matter, but you can definitely draw from existing materials for inspiration. <b>Availability:</b> any weekly times at which you'd be available for approximately a 3 hour roll20 session <b>Questions:</b> Anything you'd like me to clarify while filling out this form. <b>Favorite Starship:</b> Doesn't have to be Star Wars, any kind of spacecraft will do

Valor house rules in play (for nerds who like to know these things before I even ask for character sheets):

-Standard errata and "Valor Discord" house rules which will be provided before the game starts
-The Technique modifier Damage Shift is a +0 modifier (energy weapons and telekinetic hurling of objects being extremely common in this setting)
-The Dark Valor rules on page 111 of the core rulebook are in play for those who choose to draw upon the Dark Side of the Force
-Equipment Flaws, Skills, and Limits on page 116-117 of the core rulebook are in play. They are optional, but encouraged.
-I'm still designing the campaign, so more rules tweaks may happen.

EDIT: Discord channel invite, get it while it's active, I have no idea how Discord works.