Mechageddon!
Mechageddon! is a military sci-fi fantasy campaign for Starfinder, written by Jenny Jarzabski, Rigby Bendele, Joseph Blomquist, and Dennis Muldoon and published by Paizo.
By Aaron T. Huss
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Paizo provided Starfinder mechanics for mechs in the Tech Revolution supplement. Mechageddon! takes the next step and presents an entire campaign centered on the use of mechs and how they become an integral part of your Starfinder games. The campaign is presented in three parts with two that focus heavily on the use of mechs and one that goes back and forth between mech, personal, and starship combat. The players will learn this quickly, but the campaign takes place on a planet where gargantuan megafauna are the norm and the one last beacon of humanoid civilization relies on mechs to protect the city and fight back against these creatures. There is a stark generalization of the setting for the purpose of not spoiling the content, but players will understand this literally in the first session.
Mechageddon! feels a lot like cartoons and action shows of the 80s and 90s. Giant mechs fighting giant creatures to protect the city whereas the mechs are controlled by pilots that are part of a famous squadron of pilots. This again is a generalization as there is a storyline that progresses in the background and comes to fruition in part 3. However, the players won’t know that until they get much closer to the end. And that’s when the series of a-ha moments occurs! To be honest, if it wasn’t for that overarching storyline and how the campaign comes together in the end, this would be an awkward series of gaming sessions that feel nothing like a Paizo game. But alas, it does end up feeling like a Paizo game and I think the developers did a great job of blending those elements into the mech theme.
Being a campaign of mechs, the heroes are continuously encountering creatures that are way beyond the normal CR they should be facing. Thankfully their mechs make-up for that and in the end, they progress quickly down the XP path and cover many levels from the beginning of the campaign to the end, along with an opportunity to update their mechs.
This style of campaign, however, is very military in style. It doesn’t lend itself well to a lot of role-playing opportunities and most of the encounters center on combat or being famous mech pilots. It’s definitely a style of game you will have to want to play in order to truly get into it. If this style of gameplay is not for you, it will likely lose your interest quickly. GMs should be aware before choosing this campaign and ensure all of their players are interested in this style of gameplay. You wouldn’t want your game to quickly fall apart before building to the story’s climax.
Mechageddon! does have some bonus material to go with it including a full look at adversaries on the planet, a detailed look into the setting, and additional adventures that can be thrown in or used elsewhere. Players also benefit with new mechs and some pretty cool options.
If you like mechs and want to see how you can truly play a Starfinder campaign centered on mechs, there’s really no reason to look elsewhere. The theme is not shoehorned in with this campaign as it feels natural once you learn the secrets of the setting. It’s definitely a new opportunity and takes a different direction than what you might think from a Starfinder (or even Pathfinder) game!
