First In, First to Deceive Pitch

A Play by Post game about spies. Employed by a small mercenary unit to head on world weeks ahead of the main force to see what they'll be getting themselves into.

Lie, cheat, deceive. Sabotage, kill. Drink and party to forget the rest.

Who

The PCs are all Dispossessed MechWarriors employed by Karney's Knuckledraggers as Scouts. What does that mean?

BattleMechs require training to use, as well as the inborn (and somewhat hereditary) ability to use a Neurohelmet. Over the course of the Succession Was the capacity to manufacture 'Mechs has decayed, and the remaining MechWarriors have become a military aristocracy piloting 'Mechs that have often been in their families for generations. They have more in common with the hard bitten knights of the early Middle Ages than the later noble born. A Mechwarrior is Dispossessed if they do not in fact possess a BattleMech. That could be for any number of reasons, perhaps they are a younger child and their family didn't own enough 'Mechs to assign them one, perhaps theirs was destroyed on the battlefield and could not be recovered. Many of the Dispossessed end up in responsible but high-risk roles in the military that keep them on a waiting list for a new 'Mech. The two most common jobs are Anti-Mech Infantry (who climb 'Mechs and plant satchel charges at weak points) and Scouts (who are spies sent out on secret missions rather than battlefield recon).

Karney's Knuckledraggers are a mercenary company working for the Free Worlds League on the Lyran border.

As Scouts the PCs will be sent ahead to planets where the Knuckledraggers expect to be fighting with a set of objectives (e.g. build a complete list of all defending forces) and complete freedom as to methods and means to complete them in a fixed timeframe.

Video Games

Intro to Battletech video game
Intro to Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries video game

Where

In the year 3025 humans have spread to thousands of worlds and have encountered no other intelligent life. For more than 200 years the five largest interstellar governments have fought for dominance and control of the Inner Sphere (all space within about 500 light-years of the homeworld). These are known as the Succession Wars.

Warfare is dominated by huge BattleMechs, vaguely humanoid machines standing over 12m tall and with fearsome arrays of weapons piloted by a single MechWarrior.

How

This will be a Play by Post game hosted on a World Anvil message board, which will require a free account. Each player takes a turn advancing the adventure for their character - the current plan is one turn per day, so once or twice a week for each player depending on how many there are. Plus out of character threads for side discussions, questions and whatever else.

Rules will be MechWarrior Destiny, a rules light game with a lot of player control and a structure well suited to PbP. Players will not need a copy of the rules but a PDF can be purchased at DriveThruRPG.

Why

Play by Post allows a story heavy game without a regular time commitment.

Espionage is a good genre for a mix of drama, action, intrigue, and angst.

Mercenary Scouts gives missions with high urgency, lots of variety and the ability to leave most unwanted complications behind when the PCs step onto the DropShip to leave.

Battletech is a setting I know well, that has existed for 30 + years and for which a staggering amount of supporting material exists, including 2 current video games. Also it is SF, which I like and haven't done for a while.

by Last Nomad