History TabletopGame / Mekton

* RealRobot: All official settings.

* StatuesqueStunner: Jalia Zell, an [[ActionGirl elite]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Imperial military clone]] in the Invasion Terra campaign setting is depicted (in her statistics and in the couple of fairly low detail drawings of her) as being tall, long legged and very attractive. [[spoiler:In quintessential anime fashion, her official story line has her become [[CuriosityCausesConversion intrigued by the Terran pilot who captured her]], [[HumanityIsInfectious as well as in human culture and life beyond war]], before returning to her people. She later [[ThePowerofLove defects to the Terran side mid-battle to be with her adversary-turned lover]] and [[BattleCouple joins his squadron]].]]

* SpacePirates: Starblade Battalion. They're a fairly loose alliance of noble criminals and various renegades, more or less a space-faring version of the edgerunners from Cyberpunk 2020.

* '''Mekton Zero''': A planned new edition, backwards compatible with ''Zeta''. [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1888572386/mekton-zero Was successfully funded on Kickstarter]], but has since [[VaporWare failed to materialize]]

* CombiningMecha
* DoppelgangerSpin: The Shadow Imager
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * EnergyWeapon

** Also somewhat descriptive of the game's current state with numerous false starts and abandoned products over the last two decades, the latest being the Kickstarter-backed ''Mekton Zero'' which has so far had numerous issues pop up ([[Trivia/{{Mekton}} detailed on the Trivia page]]) that resulted in many people losing faith in that project ever getting finished.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: Likely to be invoked at least once.

* HumongousMecha
* LaserBlade: Energy Melee Weapons
* LittleMissBadass: Quite a few in the VM setting

%% ZCE * MoreDakka: Burst 8
%% ZCE ** Burst Infinity (for beam weapons) may finally be the long-sought Enuff Dakka... Maybe.

* PoweredArmor

* PsychicPowers
* PurelyAestheticGender: Except that females have a slightly higher chance of having psionic powers if those rules are used.

* RasputinianDeath: Lord Dremmond.

* ShoutOut: Several, to various mecha anime

* SuperDeformed: Yes, it even has rules for ''this''.

%%* TransformingMecha
* SpacePirates: Starblade Battalion

* MoreDakka: Burst 8
** Burst Infinity (for beam weapons) may finally be the long-sought Enuff Dakka... Maybe.

** HouseRules: Although slightly encouraged all around, The Mekton Z+ rulebook makes it clear that the method provided for determining random psionic abilities in [=PCs=] is just a suggestion and that referees [the Game Masters] have the final say in how to determine them.

* [[VaporWare Vaporware]]: The various new editions bandied around since the late nineties, none of which have ever come to fruition. At this point, Mekton has arguably become more famous for being {{Vaporware}} than its actual gameplay.
** In 1997, ''Mekton Double Zeta'' was announced, using RTG's new Fuzion ruleset. It never happened, and in fact they probably never even got around to writing it, as RTG were concentrating on their licensed titles at the time.
** Around 2000, Mekton was licensed out to Atomic Rocket Games, who planned to put ''Zeta'' back in print, print new setting material, and possibly even create a new edition. This never happened and the license lapsed again.
** The latest and most infamous of these is ''Mekton Zero''. In 2004, Mike Pondsmith announced ''Mekton ZERO'', but nothing else would happen until 2012, when he teamed up with Creator/CDProjektRed to begin work on ''Videogame/Cyberpunk2077''. At this point, Pondsmith once again announced ''Mekton Zero'' as a Kickstarter project, for a 2014 release. 2014 came and went, and in 2018, Pondsmith refunded all the Kickstarter backers. He is still, as of 2022, saying ''Mekton Zero'' will come out eventually, despite having been announced ''twenty years ago'' now.
** In 2019, ''Mekton'' finally defied {{vaporware}} status and released ''something'', the game's first commercial release since 1994. It was the ''Mekton Zeta'' core book, [[AntiClimax exactly as printed in 1994, except much of the original art had been removed]].

* ThisIsADrill: The Mekton Zeta corebook lists drills among the weapons

* [[VaporWare Vaporware]]: The various new editions bandied around since the late nineties, none of which have ever come to fruition.
** The latest of these would be the Kickstarter-backed ''Mekton Zero'', originally planned for release in December 2013 but plagued with issues throughout its development. Mike Pondsmith is still determined to get it out, regardless of backers getting refunded, and confirmed as such [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcWKCnZ17kM in a very impromptu Mekton Seminar in 2018]].

* TransformingMecha

* TheTetrisEffect: If you're on the mailing list, odds are this trope probably applies. A casual player wouldn't take the time to stat ''Tupperware'', after all.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The infamous PC Hair Colour table
** Lampshaded mercilessly in ''Starblade'', where blue hair is mentioned as a typical heroic trait...

Mekton provides examples of the following tropes:

* '''TabletopGame/JovianChronicles''': Originally a setting for ''Mekton II'' created by Dream Pod 9, before being published as a game in its own right under a different system. Has been described as "American ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''" (well, Canadian Gundam actually), revolving around a conflict in our own solar system between the powers of the Jovian Confederation and the Central Earth Government and Administration.

* FrickinLaserBeams

''Mekton'' is a HumongousMecha TabletopRPG published by Mike Pondsmith under his R. Talsorian Games studio (who also published ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}} 2020'' and ''TabletopGame/TeenagersFromOuterSpace''), and was, in fact, the first Mecha RPG ever published. All official settings are RealRobot settings, but it is possible to run a SuperRobot game within the rules as well.

* HumongousMecha: [[CaptainObvious Duh.]]

A new edition of ''Mekton'' has been bandied around since the ninties under various names such as ''Mekton Double Zeta'' and ''Mekton ZERO''. However, the game itself has been essentially out of print and all attempts to revive it have thus far resulted in extensive delays and cancellations. After a well-funded Kickstarter project, Mike Pondsmith 's new edition ''Mekton Zero'' [[ScheduleSlip has slipped]] from its expected delivery date by over two years and Pondsmith has begun offering refunds to backers which does not bode well for the future.

** Also somewhat descriptive of the game's curent state with numerous false starts and abandoned products over the last two decades. The failure of the Kickstarter-backed ''Mekton Zero'' to deliver product proves that things aren't going to change

* '''Mekton Zero''': New edition, backwards compatible with ''Zeta''. [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1888572386/mekton-zero Now up on Kickstarter]], but has since [[VaporWare failed to materialize]]

* '''Starblade Battalion''': The last published sourcebook in the Mekton line to date. A sequel to Cyberpunk 2020, but set so far in its future that you wouldn't notice. Earth and its Pleiades Colonies locked by their respective governments in a war that nobody really wants, that the titular Starblade Battalion (a [[LaResistance rebel group]] made up from [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits disidents of both sides]] plus {{Space Pirates}}) tries to stop. Easily comparable to ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]'', or the more recent ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]''.

** Also somewhat descriptive of the game's curent state with numerous false starts and abandoned products over the last two decades.
*** The (apparent) failure of the Kickstarter-backed ''Mekton Zero'' to deliver product would seem to suggest that things aren't going to change

* AuthorExistenceFailure -subverted. RTG's been said to have gone out of business on multiple occasions. They actually just work at speeds rivaling glaciers.

* ExecutiveMeddling: The ''Algol 1530'' sourcebook was cancelled and the whole Algol setting discontinued becuse the then cheif editor "didn't like it"
** Has since been counter-meddled by Mike Pondsmith; Algol is apparently the default setting for ''Mekton Zero''. Of course, whether Zero ever reaches publication is another matter...

* FollowTheLeader: Creator Mike Pondsmith has stated the game was inspired by ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. He also admits that the original version of what became ''Mekton Empire'' was a shameless ripoff of ''StarWars''.

* AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit: Excessive Scale is pretty much built around type 4
--> Every so often, something crops up in anime that is just, well, excessive. Planet-sized battle fortresses, galaxy-destroying beam cannons, machines that can rend time and space... such things are pretty common in anime, really.

* '''Bendar Empire''': Introduced in ''Mekton Empire'', a ''Mekton II'' supplement - The Bendar Spiral Galaxy is home to a vast and ancient Imperium in decline. The forces of darkness threatens the Imperium from without while decadence and decay destroy it from within. It is a time of adventure and intrigue, of political machinations and star-spanning battles. Mekton Empire provides epic scope to the game of Mekton. Giant battlefleets ply the void, scheming politicians maneuver for power, and great mysteries hide secrets that could destroy, or save, an entire Galaxy. Mekton Empire is a cross between ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' and ''FiveStarStories'', where characters can become heroes for their deeds of honor and turn around to be stabbed in the back by their closest friend. Abandoned, but containing the Algol setting as yet another planet.

* IncrediblyLamePun: Many mecha and character names. And not just in the fan settings. ''North Frozen'', ferchrissake...
** Notable in that some puns (such as the aforementioned [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory ''North Frozen'']]) are dual-use [[ShoutOut Shout Outs]] and [[TakeThat Take Thats]] against various mecha franchises. The R. Talsorian lot has a ''screwy'' sense of humor...

* '''{{Gundam}} Senki''': Japanese release only - a licensed ''{{Gundam}}'' RPG [[note]] specifically, the Universal Century's One Year War, although supplements covering other eras were planned.[[/note]] using the Mekton rules. An English-language release [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was planned, but fell through]].

* '''Mekton Zero''': New edition, backwards compatible with ''Zeta''. [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1888572386/mekton-zero Now up on Kickstarter.]]

A new edition of ''Mekton'' has been bandied around since the ninties under various names such as ''Mekton Double Zeta'' and ''Mekton ZERO''. However, the game itself has been essentially out of print and all attempts to revive it have thus far resulted in extensive delays and cancellations. Mike Pondsmith has, however, informed the Mekton Z mailing list that he's working on Mekton Zero. Given that RTG finally released Cyberpunk V3 after nearly a decade, there may yet be hope; the well-funded Kickstarter project [[ScheduleSlip has slipped]] from its 2014 loose deadlines.

** Also somewhat descriptive of the game's curent state with numerous false starts and abandoned products over the last decade.
*** Though thankfully that seems to be changing, if some of what's been mentioned on the mailing list is true.

** Has since been counter-meddled by Mike Pondsmith; Algol is apparently the default setting for Mekton Zero. And thankfully Mike's had the common sense to avert Mailing List Meddling. Thus far.

* '''JovianChronicles''': Originally a setting for ''Mekton II'' created by Dream Pod 9, before being published as a game in its own right under a different system. Has been described as "American ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''" (well, Canadian Gundam actually), revolving around a conflict in our own solar system between the powers of the Jovian Confederation and the Central Earth Government and Administration.

* '''Bendar Empire''': Introduced in ''Mekton Empire'', a ''Mekton II'' supplement - The Bendar Spiral Galaxy is home to a vast and ancient Imperium in decline. The forces of darkness threatens the Imperium from without while decadence and decay destroy it from within. It is a time of adventure and intrigue, of political machinations and star-spanning battles. Mekton Empire provides epic scope to the game of Mekton. Giant battlefleets ply the void, scheming politicians maneuver for power, and great mysteries hide secrets that could destroy, or save, an entire Galaxy. Mekton Empire is a cross between ''{{Dune}}'' and ''FiveStarStories'', where characters can become heroes for their deeds of honor and turn around to be stabbed in the back by their closest friend. Abandoned, but containing the Algol setting as yet another planet.

A new edition of ''Mekton'' has been bandied around since the ninties under various names such as ''Mekton Double Zeta'' and ''Mekton ZERO''. However, the game itself has been essentially out of print and all attempts to revive it have thus far resulted in extensive delays and cancellations. Mike Pondsmith has, however, informed the Mekton Z mailing list that he's working on Mekton Zero. Given that RTG finally released Cyberpunk V3 after nearly a decade, there may yet be hope; the well-funded Kickstarter project has slipped from its 2014 loose deadlines.

A new edition of ''Mekton'' has been bandied around since the ninties under various names such as ''Mekton Double Zeta'' and ''Mekton ZERO''. However, the game itself has been essentially out of print and all attempts to revive it have thus far resulted in extensive delays and cancellations. Mike Pondsmith has, however, informed the Mekton Z mailing list that he's working on Mekton Zero. Given that RTG finally released Cyberpunk V3 after nearly a decade, there may yet be hope; the well-funded Kickstarter project isn't slipping yet from its 2014 loose deadlines.

* '''Mekton''':Published in 1985. The first anime mecha role-playing game (''{{Battletech}}'' was only a boardgame at this time.) Introduced the world of Algol.

* '''Invasion Terra''': The default setting for ''Mekton Zeta'', with Earth being invaded by an expansionist galactic empire. Heavily influenced by ''SuperDimensionFortressMacross''. Initially developed as a test-game for the Zeta edition before being published.

* ChunkySalssaRule: The rules for nukes are heavy on this sort of thing; if you're in the hex where it goes off, you're dead. The same applies to supernovae, except that every hex within about 100 AU of the star is treated as 'where it goes off'.