A #indiettrpgmonth gem worthy of more attention.

True in One games, a small independent game company is alive and kicking with some cool games. The Robotic Age really got my attention several years ago. This is their site. The core book was written by Preston Poland.

The story of this game starts off in 2113. Humans, androids, cyborgs, and transhumans live together in relative harmony. Planet Earth is a many splintered place with nations of old disappearing and having been changed forever by war or natural disaster. AI is still around, but heavily limited. It appears there has been more than one way to stave off the apocalypse so far. Artificials and humans have learned to by-and-large share the planet, even if they don’t always get along.

Of course, humans will still human. Corporations still do scummy, terrible things in the name of profits. Governments still do horrible things to other humans/androids/warbots in the name of power. Much of the same old hate and bigotry is alive on the planet, even if the names and faces have changed. (For example, G27 are a faction of humans who hate androids.) It’s not Star Trek by any means.

I think the best way to describe this game is dystopian cyberpunk mecha. It’s not quite an anime style game, but it has very strong video game/anime vibes and manga art. For fans of games such as Rifts and Battlelords of the 23rd Century, it’s got strong vibes of those two games as well. Again, this is very much in line with Appleseed or Ghost in the Shell in terms of anime/manga. (*Yes, I’m a huge Masamune Shirow fan.) Bubblegum Crisis/Crash might be another good comparison, only with the Boomers being all benevolent.

The art is very much more an American style with a lot of manga influence. The full color covers of the core book and The Robotic Age: Mars are very well illustrated. The black and white interior art is top notch along the lines of any comic book or manga commercially available. This was definitely a big selling point for me right behind cyborgs, robots, and mecha. The layout makes me chuckle with the 1990s style tables and bullet points.

The system is percentile based (d100.) The fantasy game crowd will definitely have some adjustments to make. No elves, dwarves, or magic to be found in this game. Psionics really aren’t a thing. No aliens to be found, but we’ve really only gotten to the moon and Mars so far. No Faster Than Light Travel yet as far (as we know.) There is a vast cyberspace world exists in the game and you can be a hacker if you want the fantasy element back badly enough.

The Robotic Age has a relatively small, compact skill list compared to a lot of other modern age TTRPGs. Character creation is pretty fast and straightforward. It’s more or less classless. Players get to design almost every detail of their own character, including defining weapons, exo-suits, and mecha. Designations and Combat Styles help define characters in slightly narrower categories, but aren’t overly restrictive. It’s pretty easy to make a viable character and jump into the action.

Speaking of action, there’s plenty to be found. The world is solidly developed and GMs are free to run any kind of cyberpunk/mecha game they can conceive. Maybe they want to be corporate or government agents protecting the city from terrorist and criminal threats. Maybe they want to be street rats fighting corporate corruption in their own way. Maybe they want to slug it out on Mars with giant robots, fighting for survival in a harsh land.

If you’re looking for a top notch, inexpensive, cyberpunk style TTRPG, this is a good way to go. The Mars expansion is great for giant robot combat. True In One games also makes a couple of other great games if you get a chance to visit their site. Good stuff all around.

Thanks for being here. I appreciate it. More #IndieTTRPGmonth to come.