This is not a playtest review.
Armageddon 2089 is a rulebook for running a Mecha game, from Mongoose Publishing. For those of you who, like me, know little or nothing about the genre, WarMeks are huge (200-ton) humanoid fighting machines, piloted by humans. The Armageddon 2089 setting is modern/futuristic, on the edge of apocalypse, and this is mainly thanks to the destructive powers of WarMeks. The game focuses on those characters involved with WarMeks being used in a war between the European Federation and the USA.
Armageddon 2089 is a 304-page full colour hardcover product costing $44.95. There is little or no wasted space - margins are tight and font is small, whilst remaining quite readable. The light green metallic-style background can interfere with readability at first but one quickly becomes used to it. Art is used sparingly outside the WarMek section, and is mostly appropriate to the context. The style varies from section to section from comic-style character class illustrations through to computer-design weaponry illustrations, some atmospheric if rather nebulous pseudo-screenshots from WarMek visual scanners (nowhere near as good as the one on the front cover), and some excellent realistic representations of the WarMeks themselves. There are even a few imaginary magazine front pages from 'Which Warmek?' magazine! The writing style is excellent, in keeping with the subject matter, and providing plenty of sidebars giving news briefs from the imaginary IWN NetNews to give a flavour of the setting without overt information-dumping. Editing is also good, though I picked up a few minor inconsistencies, particularly in the tables.
Welcome
This introductory section gives a brief overview of the political and military situation for the campaign setting (near-apocalyptic war between the US and the European Federation in 2089, with WarMeks being the main effective protagonists).
Introduction
Some brief advice for beginning and veteran players. There is a note of the main rules change to personal combat, the use of Defence Value (instead of AC), which equals 10 + total Reflex save bonus + size modifier. Size also changes, as all sizes are compared to WarMeks as average size, and WarMeks use Armour and Structure Points instead of Damage Reduction and hit points. Additionally, to make up for the tougher combatants, Armageddon 2089 scenarios are designed to be a lot tougher than normal scenarios.
Characters
All characters are human, and there are five main character classes: field officer (elite jack-of-all-trades), assault officer (aggressive combat specialists), comms officer (communications and electronics specialists), scout officer (reconnaissance specialists), and WarMek weapons officer (sniper combat specialists, often teamed with scout officers). Alternatively, one can run a campaign that does not focus on WarMeks, using the soldier, officer, and civilian classes.
Skills And Feats
New skills include Aeropilot, computer use, drive, electronic warfare, WarMek Pilot, and Technical. There are some new uses for old skills such as Forgery, which covers electronic documents. New feats include Anti-Aircraft Gunner, Data Access (reduces Computer Use durations), Improved Interrogation, and Nerves Of Steel (Concentration bonus and stackable Will save bonus). There are also a new set of specific WarMek feats such as Defender (provides +2 cover bonus to comrades), Improved WarMek Stealth (decreases Hide penalty), and MRSI Artillerist (allows a series of shots to impact at the same time using an automated delay system).
Mercenary Companies
A further step after character creation is to create the mercenary company to which the PCs belong, including a joint agreement on how to spend their money wisely on WarMeks and other equipment. The mercenary company allows the PCs freedom unavailable with the military organisations of the time, and the importance of mercenary companies in the war is also described in a sidebar. A sample mercenary company is given, showing how to use the guidelines and there is further information on loan repayments, recruiting staff, and finding work. There are also sections describing creating a corporate or military WarMek squad, if that is desired. Guidelines are also given for creating NPC mercenary companies along with an example. The chapter ends with some fairly detailed discussion on negotiating the details of a job with an employer with some in-character advice on how to cut the best deal at the bargaining table. Rules for negotiation and modifiers based on past mission success are given to this end.
Personal Equipment
After some brief information on availability and selling of equipment, the remainder of the chapter gives a listing of the types of equipment available in the campaign setting, such as antimek missile launchers, assault rifles, anti-armour mines, and stun grenades, as well as more general equipment such as flashlights, oxygen tanks, combat suits, and scuba gear. A table gives all the rules-related information towards the end of the chapter, including a weapon's armour-piercing capability. This chapter only covers personal stuff (see below for the chapter covering equipment for WarMeks).
Personal Combat
Reiterates the Defence Value stat, looks at various actions in combat, covers armour (including armour piercing), running gunfights and rapid fire (including spraying an area and suppressive fire). A system is offered to cover stray shots and the likelihood of hitting bystanders, as well as information on attacking WarMeks or vehicles in terms of structural damage. Other dangers covered include thin atmospheres, various 'poisons' (such as Tear Gas and Nerve Gas), and radiation, as well as more mundane dangers such as fire and drowning.
WarMek And Vehicle Combat
All you need to know about combat using WarMeks or vehicles, including such things as available power, arcs of fire, armour and structure points, called shots, movement penalties due to terrain, indirect fire from rockets and howitzers, missile countermeasures, ripple fire, mines and minefields, speed and manoeuvres, mishaps, the effects of weather conditions, repairing damage, and combat engineering (such as building bridges, fortification, and mine clearing and setting).
Electronic Warfare
Information on reconnaissance tactics - scanning and spotting, emissions signatures (infrared, radar, magnetic, electromagnetic and seismic) dependent on size, comms, and power, plus a listing of some of the available high-tech comms equipment such as gravitational scanners and wideband autonomous jammers. Further information is given on electronic attack and jamming such as transmission interception and codebreaking, electronic masking and frequency hopping. A detailed example is given showing how to use the rules in this chapter in gameplay. A brief section at the end of the chapter looks at information warfare, mainly surrounding cryptography.
WarMeks Of The World
Information and stats for around 30 WarMek models. Each model has a two-page spread with illustration and description on the left and stats and features on the right. They are split into those produced independently, by the EF (Europe), the Tiger Combine (SE Asia), and the US.
Mek Construction
This chapter concentrates on WarMek customisation. An eight-step procedure looks at choices of chassis, power, weapons and equipment, and armour, and then calculating cargo, speed, and emissions signatures.
WarMek Technology
This chapter gives tons of options for outfitting and equipping WarMeks, including cockpits, weapons (cannons, howitzers, machine guns, lasers, minelayers, particle accelerators, rockets and missiles, close combat weapons such as chainsaws and retractable spikes, sonic weapons, and flamethrowers), ammunition, armour (smart armour and armour coatings), comms and electronic warfare systems (e.g. air-tracking radar, magnetic scanner, and quantum processor), targeting systems, fire extinguishers, shielding and hostile environment gear, and a range of accessories.
Ground Vehicles And Aircraft
Illustrated guide to a range of vehicles from heavy bombers and fighter planes to tanks, helicopters, rocket-launchers, and a section on unmanned vehicles such as remote-controlled spy planes.
The World of 2089
"This chapter looks at the most important states and alliances in 2089, with an eye toward explaining their role in the war between the US and the EF." Impressively, the chapter looks to build upon recent current affairs in the US, the EU and world politics to form a realistic (if grim) overview of life and the world in 2089. As well as the US and EF, The chapter looks at the Southeast Asian Economic Community (the Tiger Combine), Russia, Africa, the rest of Asia, the United Kingdom (which lies at the centre of the conflict), Fragmentistan (the ex-Soviet nations), the Middle East (now much of a wasteland after an incredibly destructive six-hour war by Israel against its neighbours), and Australasia. The chapter sometimes makes for uncomfortable reading and this aspect is picked up in the designer's notes at the end of the book - I think it's worth quoting:
"What I hope we have done, if we have offended anyone with this future history, is not to pull any punches. There are no 'good guy' countries here. We have taken the worst aspects of all the combatants' cultures and exaggerated them, ignoring the more positive aspects. It has been occasionally disturbing for us, and so if you are disturbed too, this is probably a good sign".
Corporations
This chapter gives plenty of examples of the businesses that impact upon the world of 2089. You won't see any immediately recognisable companies here for obvious reasons but they all bear a semblance to some existing corporations in their structure and goals. A range of product types and services are covered with the main players described, with a particular focus on vehicle production (including WarMeks). There are guidelines for creating your own corporations and a look at the consequences of introducing that corporation into the campaign setting.
Campaigns
To begin with the chapter takes some basic GMing skills and expands upon them - researching the setting for adventures, planning from micro to macro level, ensuring that PCs see the consequences of their actions, and enabling the PCs to become involved in the larger campaign plot. The campaign setting concentrates, as much as possible, on realism (historical and technological), the cost of the Armageddon War to the PCs (emotional and financial), consumerism (the importance of corporations), cynicism (the world is a grim place), and the horrors of war (death, destruction, hard choices, betrayal, etc.). There is advice on reining in the power of the PCs in terms of the weapons of mass destruction that become available through possession of WarMeks, and the reality of death.
The next section looks at a fate worse than death for those areas irradiated by the result of nuclear warfare, as well as the extreme mental illness that arises from living in such a grim world. Some, however, have retained hope of a resolution to conflict, and the next section takes a look at the type of issues that could motivate PCs to keep on trying despite the odds. Four types of campaign are briefly discussed - mercenary, corporate, Special Forces, and tanker/infantry, along with some possible adventure/campaign hooks for each. Following this is a discussion of experience point awards - CR is not used, but a steady general progression is advised (about 1500 XP per session). Other awards are also discussed such as information, rank and prestige, and money and equipment. The chapter concludes with some explanation as to the relationship between mercenary WarMeks and the world of 2089 - why they are employed, why mission time is so limited, and why combat is a business. I finally began to understand the nature of the recommended style of play for Armageddon 2089 - as covert missions into enemy territory, avoiding high-tech surveillance techniques, to accomplish a specific goal, and then try to get out again alive and collect your rewards.
The book concludes with a glossary of terms, some designer's notes ("For me, Armageddon 2089 is [about]...blowing stuff up"), a six-page index, a character sheet, WarMek design sheet, and mercenary company sheet.
The High Points
There has been an impressive attempt to extrapolate today's technology and politics forward into 2089, and one that, despite being somewhat opinionated and cynical at times, struck a chord. For me, the chapters on the world of 2089, mercenary companies, and campaigns, shone through for this reason. For mecha fans, the range of WarMeks and equipment seemed good for a campaign setting product (I'm sure there'll be more to come in future products), and feats and skills seemed appropriate to the setting and mostly well-balanced.
The Low Points
Perhaps its because I know so little about the mecha genre, but the five main character classes all seemed very similar to each other. All the WarMek classes have top notch BABs, and bonus feats, as their signature stats, and the differences in role seemed fairly minor to an ignorant soul like myself. A minor layout quibble was that I would have liked to have seen the various chapters on WarMeks a little more integrated rather than separate chapters on the different aspects, and information on technology and construction to have come before the actual WarMek examples.
Conclusion
Armageddon 2089 is a strong product that should be a must-buy for mecha fans and worthwhile considering for anyone interested in a modern/futuristic campaign setting, with its interesting and disturbing techno-political prophecies. Whether you just want to 'blow stuff up', or if you want to develop adventures set in a grim and complex future world of corporate and political machinations, Armageddon 2089 has a lot to offer.
