ST Forge Spotlight: How We Would Run 'Eldritch Automata'
The cover for Eldritch Automata
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, trees and nonbinaries. Adam Ray has returned. It's been a long time. Did you miss me? I've been in the mech hangar polishing my arcane cannons for the first look at a very unique new RPG that we here at Storyteller's Forge have been graciously handed. Read on dear friend if you wish to bring some heavy metal, twisted deception, and action horror to your next game night.
The World of 'Eldritch Automata'
Our good friends over at Gehenna Gaming have been eagerly developing their new RPG, Eldritch Automata. Taking inspiration from movies like Pacific Rim, and legendary anime such as Gundam and Neon Genesis: Evangelion, Eldritch Automata seeks to bring the mecha experience to your TTRPG table experience.
This game is set in the aftermath of the apocalypse. Numerous, terrifying monsters known as Horrors, and twisted mockeries of angels known as Seraphs, ravage what's left of your home and hunt anything else that lives. It's the remnants of civilization that built immense machines called The Automata.
These Mechs have a supernatural connection to the world but violently punish those who control them. The machines have a zealous, godlike following and the pilots that move them feel the burden of being a messiah among men. So, let's find our way into this world.
The Gameplay of 'Eldritch Automata'
As with many TTRPGs, Eldritch Automata has its player characters create their character with a combination of numerical stats that show what they're good and bad at and a welcome cluster of character motivations and beliefs that are masterfully baked into the mechanics of the game. There are mechanics for the extra character progression based on character regret and the way they handle the personal connections (called Strands) between other player characters in this game. I'm fortunate that the majority of my players naturally nurture connections between player characters and key NPCs, as it's helpful to get it baked into the mechanics of the game as a whole.
As a Storyteller, these character-building mechanics must be the priority, almost more so than the grandiose battles between mech and monster. It influences the way player characters handle the stresses of the front line and the political maneuvering of a post-apocalyptic organization that defends the last of humanity from monsters… And when you know a character’s fears and inner workings, the monsters and mechs are metaphors for whatever themes you and the players want to explore while telling the story.
Final Thoughts on Eldritch Automata
Eldritch Automata has the potential to be an RPG that offers its players multiple styles of story. This could be a sense of political intrigue game where the players handle the machinations of a corrupt defense force. It could be a psychological horror as characters run away from the trauma of fighting monsters while these magical machines torment their waking moments. Maybe it's a raucous battle and power trip game with mechs versus the heavenly host.
Or it could be all of the above and more!
Look for more news about Eldritch Automata here on Storyteller's Forge, as we get it, and back their Kickstarter right here!
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Now we wanna hear from you! Are you interested in Eldritch Automata? What game system do you want to see get the Spotlight treatment? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading Storyteller’s Forge.
