One minor lore quibble, the albatross are not part of NorthStar, NorthStar's goons are called Trunk Security. The albatross just have worryingly deep ties to NorthStar. The Albatrosses' thing is that they respond to every single distress call they get, even if they show up decades or centuries after it was sent. They then see if there is anything they can do to help, before leaving to answer the next call for help. This does make them de-facto pirate hunters to an extent, but only insofar as they respond to a merchant ships distress calls the same as any other call for help. So, well meaning paladin types who could absolutely get tricked into acting as enforces for an unjust system rather than your typical cops.
Glad someone made that clarification. Would still be fun to accidently go up against the Albatross in that proposed pirate campaign. Only to help them see they were getting duped.
Or even with the Albatross possibly being on the wrong side. What is that quote? "one man's freedom fighters is another man's terrorists"? No reason you could not apply the same logic to pirates @@pixelnpc8480
After this showed up on Quinn’s Quest, I’ve been steadily looking for earnest content reviews on what it is like to play and set up this game. In this process I have stumbled through several lore videos, almost all of which missed or glossed over the opening suggestion to write in their style and give their setting a chance. Everyone seems to jump right to space Walmart and the Eugenics faction. THANK YOU for expounding on what is probably one of the most relevant themes within the lore to me and doing so with style and panache. Also cannot agree more with your take on Frank Herbert/Dune and that makes me smile. Thanks again.
Biggest same: I don’t run games in their established settings, hardly ever. I’m a writer in interactive media and I often find established settings in ttrpgs to be unsatisfying for the kinds of stories I want to create. Lancer is the first game setting where I was like “this is perfect, no notes”. It has enough space in it to tell nearly any kind of story you want (with the far-flung diaspora outside the blink gates, weird space ghosts and other unanswered mysteries) and just enough rock-solid, believable, and internally consistent world building to really immerse yourself, get a feel for its incredible vibe, and get inspired. Alongside the fact that the game isn’t afraid to have a position. It’s a setting that has a nuanced argument within it. It says “hey, people should care about other people, here’s what that might look like as a society, here’s how it’s possible, but also here’s all the ways that there aren’t perfect answers and how difficult that would be to maintain.” Also just… holy shit the MECHS though. The combat is crunchy and tactical in just the perfect way to make build craft and strategy satisfying without it being completely overwhelming or unplayable. I’ve been an unabashed evangelist for this game for a couple years now. I highly recommend folks check out lancer’s discord, Pilot Net. It’s a really great community.
I heard a criticism of LANCER that the setting isn't in-depth enough to fully run a game, but I think that's perfect. I want the themes and big actors of the setting, but I don't need the exact scenario
@@enterchannelname8981 Yeah. The core book hints at some scenarios you can expand on and leaves room for making something wholly unique. That said, the expansion content of setting books (like Field Guide to the KTB or The Long Rim) and adventures (like Wallflower or Solstice Rain) really give a lot of stuff to play with, modify, or use as-is. there's so much good stuff in the additional content.
This game's setting is a modernised Star Trek with a Star Wars/anime aesthetic. I'm fully obsessed with it, and am learning to GM just so I can play it. The community is so fantastic and helpful too. I love it so so much.
21:10 My Lancer doesn't talk about her former employer SSC or use her title of Dr after the event in her back story. The abridged vr is she worked on NHPs, worked in genetics secondarily, shit went down at her research facility, now she's not quite human, is fighting to protect her NHP wife & daughter, and has been quietly erasing all traces of her research in case MONIST takes interest in her touching certain veils.
One thing to think about union, is that they may be spreading utopian pillars and improving life in general, but sometimes that utopia comes at a great cost and is brought by the most powerful force in the galaxy. Imagine a world picking up the pieces after defending a way of life they thought was fine for hundreds of years and had thousands die because those ideals went against the 3 pillars in some way. They might not see union as the good guys, even if they brought prosperity after bringing death
Good video. I’m glad to see more people talking about Lancer I may be wrong but I think that at 22:34 you say that “Harrison the III” is the son of Harrison. When I remember reading in the book that Harrison the III is just a clone of the original Harrison who founded the Armory. So, yeah. Harrison Armory is a Corporate State Monarchy ruled by an “immortal king” who just generates another clone of himself when he gets old or dies.
yay and somewhat nay, they are a clone yay. But its not the same person. Harrisons n+1 exist simultaneusly with Harrison n, Like their kids... peeers... students?? They are a different person. They Dont have their full memories, more like a grandpa telling stories to their grandkids. They know what they are saying but they didnt experience it. They are a different apple from the same tree
I love love love the way that Lancer is like "Starfleet but we haven't 'solved' utopia and human nature and free will and all that stuff yet but we are *trying*". So much more interesting
Watching through the video when the Zero Ranger music hits and gives me a positive Pavlovian response. Your recommendation got me to check out that game, by the way, and wow that game is FUN.
The Smith-Shimano Corpro(sic) is such a neat springboard for storytelling just as a device itself. Can you imagine playing as a character who has reason to interact with them on a level that isn't just "KILL THEM ALL THEY ARE BAD"? Maybe have a few dirty jobs for the players to complete, get to know some of the people involved in the corp, and potentially even establish connections with some of the less shitey of them. Imagine the potential of thousands of people who believe they're doing the right thing in "perfecting" humankind, those who think that nudging the species towards an ideal condition isn't so bad. Maybe some scientists dish out black-market "enhancements," like physique boosters or gender-changing technology/therapy to fund secret projects they don't want their superiors knowing about. That'd be an interesting way to muddy the waters and further reject a monochromatic morality scheme. Corporations, especially as massive as SSC, are never of one mind. Our heroes could very well go on a warpath with some genuinely good people they recruit from within SSC to tear down the worst of it from the inside! Imagine the thrillers you could make with such an interesting entity!! (Sorry if this is incoherent; my 5 Hour energy ran out five hours ago and my brain is melting)
So there actually are sentient aliens in lancer. SPOILERS for the No Room For A Wallflower campaign. Egrogorians are an insectoid like people who are booth super fucking cool (their bodies change depending on their career, like more complex hands for artisans and tougher shells for soldiers), are treated with the upmost respect. Being descended from insect like creatures they obviously look very alien, but they have a rich history and culture which emphasis empathy and compassion. As an example Egrogorians will sometimes donate their bodies to become suits of armor for their closest friends. And even tho there are Egrogorians literally built to be weapons (think warrior ants) they're still people. You even get to meet a warform Egro whose a sweet old lady who sells tea, loves children, and has chopped off the spikes on her shell. It's honestly so amazing to see aliens humanized whilst still being strange.
Thank you so much for this video! I've only just heard of Lancer but now that I've heard this amazing lore video it's officially my next "must play" game. And because I like morally complex stories, I'm already seeing hooks for how my players will have to weigh the morality of having to book logistics and transport with IPSN, buy their mechs from Harrison Armoury, or their clones from Smith-Shimano, while trying to save a Union-backed but under-provisioned counter-revolution against an oppressive planetary government. Please note that I'm not trying to make things dark for the sake of dark. I'm trying to add elements of temptation and moral compromise to the mix.
The thing that surprised me about Lancer was how much of the game they give away for free. The free book is a complete game and all the new mech rules are availabe in compcon...which is also free.
So much of the media that I'm interested is pretty grimdark, so Lancer having so much cool aspirational scifi feels awesome. I was listening to a lot of Battletech lore recently, and it's quite interesting and the setting is cool, but everyone keeps vehemently telling me how completely awful and tragic every faction is. It's a bit much. I love that lancer has people in it that are earnestly, measurably, working towards a better future.
This answers NONE of the questions I came here with and I love it. Going to be playing my first game of Lancer soon and stumbled across this when trying to learn a bit about the setting to see what out DM might pull and... Nope! Could still be anything and that's just exciting as all hell! Seems all I'll be going in with is we're Charile Formation (Lovingly dubbed the Chuckle Fucks), I've got an NHP implanted in my head aaand my mech is kind of a piece of junk! Another thing I love at a glance is just how BIG the whole setting is so you could absolutely homebrew any number of planets.
I'm already seeing plenty of grit. Just imagine the players being stuck on a planet with no way home unless they book passage with a megacorp. Or getting a discount if they buy ammo from Harrison Armoury and then finding themselves having to risk getting cut off from ammo and spare parts completely if they stop HA troops from deporting the population of a city HA wants to turn into a military base. Do you stop an ethic cleansing or do you keep your link to reliable supplies in order to shorten the war and save lives? Wars aren't won by good deeds alone.
The really neat part of Ra for me is how much it leans into cosmic horror while still being ai or ai-adjacent. Between the inscrutable motives, unclear nature, seemingly endless reach, and power that can’t be conquered or truly negotiated with so much as appeased, it reminds me of the Lovecraftian gods. I haven’t run/played this game and don’t plan to (I don’t have a TTRPG group) but Horus really seems like a cult of Ra to me, though that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re on the same page as Ra
honestly reason why i got into lancer was cause the corpos.. which is a bit ironic in a way considering the setting but the SSC is the most interesting, especially when RA came in they where like "you know what, maybe we should not piss off a computer god and drop looking into this"
this is wild because my friend has been wanting to play lancer with me and some other people forever and we've just been in scheduling limbo for months now
So two points I'd like to make. The Albatross were originally made out of impoverished space miners who could pilot mining mechs before they were outfitted for war, and were sent to destroy a group who had found a way to decorp after RA made humanity sign the First Contact Accords, and because the albatross respond to every SOS they can (as space knights themselves), they were even declared terrorists by SecCom at one point. The albatross are not evil, but their ships and mech are provided by IPSN for PR purposes. IPSN's evil goes even deeper than "cops". Their whole strategy is some lockheed and martin shit. Arm the pirates with experimental weapons and pay the pirates to attack their competitors, take notes on the weapons. refine the weapons then offer to "clean up the pirates" with trunk security who have the shiny new improved weapons. It's a blood machine.
Dang homie, I been looking for the words to describe how this setting made me feel when I discovered it. And your words are damned close. Thanks! Happy gaming!
Me and my friends are currently writing a lancer series in a dead zone star cluster far from union control but already peppered with far-fielders. The powers that be have stalled Union for decades but are losing their grip and the series starts with personal stakes that just so happen to coincide with these corporate powers' death throws. While the first season has Union as this looming thing in the BG, most major players speak on and know of it. HORUS is at first treated like this anarchist (republican's view) threat that everyone's afraid of, but as they meet more HORUS users, they realize it's a tool that cool gay people and libertarian chuds can both use and it's up to the cool people to keep it cool. Harrison armory has nominal control over a former baronic world and a baron seeks the power of an exceptionally paracausal NHP and Balor to free his world (to then rule as a tyrant) and he must be stopped. The main group starts as contractors for SSC, but after doing awful immoral jobs that hurt the MCs sense of responsibility and morals, they brave it as free booters until they recontract as Union Lancers. I thin it's a really cool setting within Lancer to play with the Utopia exists and is expanding thing. Hearing kids who grew up with powerful printers as myths talk about how Union has them. Seeing SSC Lancers contend with the freeflow of information, getting afraid, then coming to understand that unfamiliarity isn't evil. (Also that price gauging and lording money over people is bad.) It's just a prime time for people hurt by what the world was, healed by what Union-types have made it become. You can see the missions get more hopeful and characters (ftmp) cope better and learn and grow. I love it so much, I can't wait to drop it in the discord for feedback :)
Love the ideas and commentary on the setting. Will say I do have one note on Harrison Armory. It's not a monarchy, it's a dictatorship. Harrison the 2nd and Harrison the 3rd are clones of Harrison the 1st. Also, the reason we are one Harrison the 3rd, is because the 2nd broke the treaty with Ra and tired to study Transhumanism in an attempt to become immortal. Ra showed up and deleted him and his research.
about HA: have a rank system from less than citizen to the military monarchy its starship troopers but even more extreme "service guarantees citizenship"
Imagine talking about villains of the setting and not saying anything about the Karrakin Trade Baronies and the Ungrateful who are fighting for survival against them (with the help of some Horus tech). Also, SSC is absolutely the eugenics ones, though I'd say they are one of the less horrifying versions of it as their colonies have to first opt in to that and can later decide to opt out of it and individuals can do the same. They are still manipulative bastards who use positive coercive measures to get you to sign on. This puts them, imo, as the second least problematic of the big 4, with the least problematic probably being Horus. Or maybe they are flipped and Horus is more problematic. Regardless, all of the big 4 have huge problems that can make them an easy go-to villain for a campaign. Not the entire corp, but perhaps a branch. For instance the sector governor of a sector of SSC colonies, the trade commander for IPSN in the Long Rim, an independent cell of a secretive hacker collective that wants to 'free people' by forcibly changing their way of life that they are happy with. Anything Harrison Armory.
You know, after hearing how helldivers 2 uses a live service for the game, I kinda want to run a west marshes lancer game where you are trying to suppress and crush an evil kulak rebellion in a sector, bringing it back under control in the name of Fully-Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism and the 2nd Committee, all the while outside forces also try and bring the sector under their control such as the extra dimensional forces calling themselves the “Spawn Of The Dark Powers” which wish to spread the greatest evil which the 2nd committee has banned, Religion, as well as the fascistic forces of the “Iron Armies Of Vanwrich”, which believe the flesh is weak and the master race will be forged in steel, and the many corporate states such as “Biotech”, who wish to use the war to sell Chemical and Bio weapons and take control of worlds which they will use to test out their products and so their more mad scientist members can create whatever horrid monstrosities or deadly disease’s faraway from them. I know it isn’t exactly what you like Lancer but I would like to hear of this, it would be pretty cool running a west marshes game where many parties work together in one massive conflict
Another thing about Harrison Armory, like Harrison the 2nd, and 3rd aren’t actually like relatives of the 1st Harrison they’re clones with the 2nd backstabbing the first and selling them out to Union for his crimes just to run the company and the 3rd isn’t any better than the last two. Since cloning becomes more unstable each generation Harrison the 2nd and 3rd have been obsessed with immortality too.
Have to drop my obligatory Tolkien defense here - his works sure aren't perfect, but he was certainly capable of realization and changing his ways, for example he originally described the dwarves as being a bit "like the Jews" but then ww2 happened and he changed it because he didnt mean it in any condescending way and despised the third reich and what they did to these people. I'm sure if he was still alive he would've changed other parts of his stories as well, as society progressed and people became more sensitive to things like this. With certainty, he would've really despised how some right wing people love lotr only because it's mostly white people being heroes.
I’ve wanted to get into lancer for ages (got the new physical edition on pre order) but I have absolutely nobody in my group who is gonna play mech TTRPGs, sadly. The setting is great. It’s kinda like Deep Space Nine and Macross had a baby. It’s awesome to have a setting where queerness is baked in too. I had no idea there was a video game adaption in progress (which I just backed) so thanks for that.
On the topic of Harrison Armoury, it's actually a rather complex faction all things considered. Their ties to fascism is quite obvious but the draft of the field guide for it talks about how the current dictator (Harrison III) is in the early stages of a decolonisation project, putting him at odds with the more anthro-chauvenist factions within the Armoury. It's also very meritocratic, offering a level of upwards mobility present in very few modern day nations. But of course, it's still an expansionist, warmongering nation. For all of the benefits it provides to the people that live within its borders, it's that much worse to the people outside it. They're building a utopia like Union is, only they're trying to do it through iron and blood. They're obviously still bad guys, but personally, I think they're less comically evil than then profit driven eugenicists of SSC or the oppressive baronies who seek to maintain the power of their upper class above all else.
oh my god you sound like you would be the best DM for a game of Lancer I’ve been playing with way too many people who just don’t seem to get it, and try to have us throw in with Karrakis or the HA
I wanna learn more about Lancer. The setting makes more sense than Battle tech. And while I like Battletech and I love how they do mechs in that game, Battletech comes off like if it wals written by Reddit from the 1980s.
Frank Herbert’s homophobia always puzzled me. I wish he had left the series in the hands of his son Bruce. The whole series needed more gay. Jodorwoski understood that.
Here's a few ideas for campaign villains: IPS-Northstar, doing some exploitative shit (They just want *_lods of emone_* ) Smith-Shimano, doing some eugenics shit ('We Don't Sell People™' is half their motto.) Harrison Armories, doing some imperialist shit (Be it Rome style, 'Murica style, or Russia style, they do it all! Also where the Space Soviets in SecCom went) Horus, doing some _weird_ shit (Think Wilbur Whately in _The Dunwich Horror,_ trying to shepherd something beyond their control and they know it.) The Karrakin Trade Baronies, doing some Game of Thrones shit (Feudalism is Fun™) The Aunic Ascendancy, doing some oppressive shit (They're religious fanatics, enough said.) Ra, doing some _bizzare_ shit (Ra, aka MONIST-1, is Computer Cthulhu. It intentionally named itself after _that_ Ra.)
Great video, I remember when my GM first started explaining the setting the first thing that popped into my mind was Valery Sablin and his "wholesome route" in the Hoi4 TNO mod. Even though I'm a Cis white Libertarian male that likes tits, rock and roll and monster trucks I can appreciate what true socialism looks like and its utopian outlook. И Ленин такой молодой, И юный Октябрь впереди
I dont view core worlds and union as purely utopian. I think it's trying and well meaning but ultimately I think uniting the whole humanity under one banner is impossible.
Can you please add the phrase "trans mechs" to this video's search tags? Your title is a little generic and I'm having trouble finding this video when I search for it to show other people. And/or play Lancer tactics again. Your thumbnail is so amazing that I can't remember the actual title. "Why I fell in love with Lancer"
A real quick point cause I was going to bring up the fact that I don't like Lancer's setting specifically because of the hopefulness of everything. I love settings where everything is shades of grey, some more grey than others, and some you don't even realize is grey at the beginning. Its the reason why Warhammer 40k is by far my favorite sci-fi setting. Like the Imperium is "Good Guys" but thats only really because everyone else is way worse save the Eldar, and maybe the Tau. You root for the Imperium not because they are good, but because they are the best of bad options. But overall lancer lore is surprisingly deep, like digging into Ra and Blink gates and all the strange eldritch tech is some of the most fun I've had in a lore dive since first getting into 40k lore.
I'm listening to you rattle off bits about the villain factions and also remembering my background as a shithead rightist and going "Hm, but none of these seem sufficiently Heel-y to me. They're all JUST corporations, albeit ones with good hooks for spicy conflict. I need some proper wannabe Imperium knockoffs who think Union is occupying Holy Terra to beat the shit out of."
@@SuperTamaru Are you mad about your comrade being too honest a bit upset they disclosed who will be purged once the more overt and numerous enemy is dealt with LOL.
The lancer writers telling me what to write is the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen any ttrpg creators do. And I played magic the gathering when invoke prejudice was still legal to use in matches. (I'm black so it was the funniest thing in earth to put in you're deck)
One minor lore quibble, the albatross are not part of NorthStar, NorthStar's goons are called Trunk Security. The albatross just have worryingly deep ties to NorthStar. The Albatrosses' thing is that they respond to every single distress call they get, even if they show up decades or centuries after it was sent. They then see if there is anything they can do to help, before leaving to answer the next call for help. This does make them de-facto pirate hunters to an extent, but only insofar as they respond to a merchant ships distress calls the same as any other call for help. So, well meaning paladin types who could absolutely get tricked into acting as enforces for an unjust system rather than your typical cops.
Glad someone made that clarification. Would still be fun to accidently go up against the Albatross in that proposed pirate campaign. Only to help them see they were getting duped.
Or even with the Albatross possibly being on the wrong side. What is that quote? "one man's freedom fighters is another man's terrorists"? No reason you could not apply the same logic to pirates @@pixelnpc8480
After this showed up on Quinn’s Quest, I’ve been steadily looking for earnest content reviews on what it is like to play and set up this game. In this process I have stumbled through several lore videos, almost all of which missed or glossed over the opening suggestion to write in their style and give their setting a chance. Everyone seems to jump right to space Walmart and the Eugenics faction. THANK YOU for expounding on what is probably one of the most relevant themes within the lore to me and doing so with style and panache. Also cannot agree more with your take on Frank Herbert/Dune and that makes me smile. Thanks again.
Biggest same: I don’t run games in their established settings, hardly ever. I’m a writer in interactive media and I often find established settings in ttrpgs to be unsatisfying for the kinds of stories I want to create.
Lancer is the first game setting where I was like “this is perfect, no notes”. It has enough space in it to tell nearly any kind of story you want (with the far-flung diaspora outside the blink gates, weird space ghosts and other unanswered mysteries) and just enough rock-solid, believable, and internally consistent world building to really immerse yourself, get a feel for its incredible vibe, and get inspired.
Alongside the fact that the game isn’t afraid to have a position. It’s a setting that has a nuanced argument within it. It says “hey, people should care about other people, here’s what that might look like as a society, here’s how it’s possible, but also here’s all the ways that there aren’t perfect answers and how difficult that would be to maintain.”
Also just… holy shit the MECHS though. The combat is crunchy and tactical in just the perfect way to make build craft and strategy satisfying without it being completely overwhelming or unplayable.
I’ve been an unabashed evangelist for this game for a couple years now. I highly recommend folks check out lancer’s discord, Pilot Net. It’s a really great community.
I heard a criticism of LANCER that the setting isn't in-depth enough to fully run a game, but I think that's perfect. I want the themes and big actors of the setting, but I don't need the exact scenario
@@enterchannelname8981 Yeah. The core book hints at some scenarios you can expand on and leaves room for making something wholly unique. That said, the expansion content of setting books (like Field Guide to the KTB or The Long Rim) and adventures (like Wallflower or Solstice Rain) really give a lot of stuff to play with, modify, or use as-is. there's so much good stuff in the additional content.
Please please please talk about lancer more I love it so much ❤
This game's setting is a modernised Star Trek with a Star Wars/anime aesthetic. I'm fully obsessed with it, and am learning to GM just so I can play it. The community is so fantastic and helpful too. I love it so so much.
21:10 My Lancer doesn't talk about her former employer SSC or use her title of Dr after the event in her back story. The abridged vr is she worked on NHPs, worked in genetics secondarily, shit went down at her research facility, now she's not quite human, is fighting to protect her NHP wife & daughter, and has been quietly erasing all traces of her research in case MONIST takes interest in her touching certain veils.
One thing to think about union, is that they may be spreading utopian pillars and improving life in general, but sometimes that utopia comes at a great cost and is brought by the most powerful force in the galaxy. Imagine a world picking up the pieces after defending a way of life they thought was fine for hundreds of years and had thousands die because those ideals went against the 3 pillars in some way. They might not see union as the good guys, even if they brought prosperity after bringing death
You and your style of video kick ass, keep it up!
Good video. I’m glad to see more people talking about Lancer
I may be wrong but I think that at 22:34 you say that “Harrison the III” is the son of Harrison. When I remember reading in the book that Harrison the III is just a clone of the original Harrison who founded the Armory. So, yeah. Harrison Armory is a Corporate State Monarchy ruled by an “immortal king” who just generates another clone of himself when he gets old or dies.
John C. Harrison the first was also a criminal who was executed by union, IIRC.
But technically JCH III is it's own person?
yay and somewhat nay, they are a clone yay. But its not the same person. Harrisons n+1 exist simultaneusly with Harrison n, Like their kids... peeers... students?? They are a different person. They Dont have their full memories, more like a grandpa telling stories to their grandkids. They know what they are saying but they didnt experience it. They are a different apple from the same tree
I need more lancer from you! Your voice is so soothing
I love love love the way that Lancer is like "Starfleet but we haven't 'solved' utopia and human nature and free will and all that stuff yet but we are *trying*". So much more interesting
Banger video.
Watching through the video when the Zero Ranger music hits and gives me a positive Pavlovian response. Your recommendation got me to check out that game, by the way, and wow that game is FUN.
The Smith-Shimano Corpro(sic) is such a neat springboard for storytelling just as a device itself. Can you imagine playing as a character who has reason to interact with them on a level that isn't just "KILL THEM ALL THEY ARE BAD"?
Maybe have a few dirty jobs for the players to complete, get to know some of the people involved in the corp, and potentially even establish connections with some of the less shitey of them. Imagine the potential of thousands of people who believe they're doing the right thing in "perfecting" humankind, those who think that nudging the species towards an ideal condition isn't so bad.
Maybe some scientists dish out black-market "enhancements," like physique boosters or gender-changing technology/therapy to fund secret projects they don't want their superiors knowing about. That'd be an interesting way to muddy the waters and further reject a monochromatic morality scheme.
Corporations, especially as massive as SSC, are never of one mind. Our heroes could very well go on a warpath with some genuinely good people they recruit from within SSC to tear down the worst of it from the inside! Imagine the thrillers you could make with such an interesting entity!!
(Sorry if this is incoherent; my 5 Hour energy ran out five hours ago and my brain is melting)
So there actually are sentient aliens in lancer. SPOILERS for the No Room For A Wallflower campaign.
Egrogorians are an insectoid like people who are booth super fucking cool (their bodies change depending on their career, like more complex hands for artisans and tougher shells for soldiers), are treated with the upmost respect. Being descended from insect like creatures they obviously look very alien, but they have a rich history and culture which emphasis empathy and compassion. As an example Egrogorians will sometimes donate their bodies to become suits of armor for their closest friends. And even tho there are Egrogorians literally built to be weapons (think warrior ants) they're still people. You even get to meet a warform Egro whose a sweet old lady who sells tea, loves children, and has chopped off the spikes on her shell. It's honestly so amazing to see aliens humanized whilst still being strange.
Egregorians are a myth. Please follow us behind the woodshed.
I may not be a goth trans dork but I’m loving your content, keep it up!
This is the best introduction to Lancer I've ever seen.
Thank you so much for this video! I've only just heard of Lancer but now that I've heard this amazing lore video it's officially my next "must play" game.
And because I like morally complex stories, I'm already seeing hooks for how my players will have to weigh the morality of having to book logistics and transport with IPSN, buy their mechs from Harrison Armoury, or their clones from Smith-Shimano, while trying to save a Union-backed but under-provisioned counter-revolution against an oppressive planetary government.
Please note that I'm not trying to make things dark for the sake of dark. I'm trying to add elements of temptation and moral compromise to the mix.
The thing that surprised me about Lancer was how much of the game they give away for free. The free book is a complete game and all the new mech rules are availabe in compcon...which is also free.
Only needing to pay if you what the lore of the pdf's and the new npc stats.
Thank you for giving me the push to run this with my group!
So much of the media that I'm interested is pretty grimdark, so Lancer having so much cool aspirational scifi feels awesome.
I was listening to a lot of Battletech lore recently, and it's quite interesting and the setting is cool, but everyone keeps vehemently telling me how completely awful and tragic every faction is. It's a bit much.
I love that lancer has people in it that are earnestly, measurably, working towards a better future.
This answers NONE of the questions I came here with and I love it.
Going to be playing my first game of Lancer soon and stumbled across this when trying to learn a bit about the setting to see what out DM might pull and... Nope! Could still be anything and that's just exciting as all hell!
Seems all I'll be going in with is we're Charile Formation (Lovingly dubbed the Chuckle Fucks), I've got an NHP implanted in my head aaand my mech is kind of a piece of junk!
Another thing I love at a glance is just how BIG the whole setting is so you could absolutely homebrew any number of planets.
I made a space Mexican robot Catholic in lancer who drives a taco truck/tortuga with a Goku mural on it
I need to play it one day, even though I generally like grittier settings where most of the surroundings is hostile to the players.
I'm already seeing plenty of grit. Just imagine the players being stuck on a planet with no way home unless they book passage with a megacorp. Or getting a discount if they buy ammo from Harrison Armoury and then finding themselves having to risk getting cut off from ammo and spare parts completely if they stop HA troops from deporting the population of a city HA wants to turn into a military base.
Do you stop an ethic cleansing or do you keep your link to reliable supplies in order to shorten the war and save lives?
Wars aren't won by good deeds alone.
There are countless settings in Lancer! If you want something gritty, you should check out the Dustgrave Lancer module.
It's simple: I see new channel, I see Lancer content, I subscribe.
The really neat part of Ra for me is how much it leans into cosmic horror while still being ai or ai-adjacent. Between the inscrutable motives, unclear nature, seemingly endless reach, and power that can’t be conquered or truly negotiated with so much as appeased, it reminds me of the Lovecraftian gods.
I haven’t run/played this game and don’t plan to (I don’t have a TTRPG group) but Horus really seems like a cult of Ra to me, though that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re on the same page as Ra
honestly reason why i got into lancer was cause the corpos.. which is a bit ironic in a way considering the setting but the SSC is the most interesting, especially when RA came in they where like "you know what, maybe we should not piss off a computer god and drop looking into this"
Lancer is such a cool game wish I could get my friends to try it out, but most of my friends prefer fantasy
this is wild because my friend has been wanting to play lancer with me and some other people forever and we've just been in scheduling limbo for months now
So two points I'd like to make. The Albatross were originally made out of impoverished space miners who could pilot mining mechs before they were outfitted for war, and were sent to destroy a group who had found a way to decorp after RA made humanity sign the First Contact Accords, and because the albatross respond to every SOS they can (as space knights themselves), they were even declared terrorists by SecCom at one point. The albatross are not evil, but their ships and mech are provided by IPSN for PR purposes. IPSN's evil goes even deeper than "cops". Their whole strategy is some lockheed and martin shit. Arm the pirates with experimental weapons and pay the pirates to attack their competitors, take notes on the weapons. refine the weapons then offer to "clean up the pirates" with trunk security who have the shiny new improved weapons. It's a blood machine.
Это не зло....это прагмотично!
I'm not a goth Trans dork but I do fucking love lancer and I'm glad so many people are discovering it and sharing their stories with it. Much love ❤
Dang homie, I been looking for the words to describe how this setting made me feel when I discovered it. And your words are damned close. Thanks! Happy gaming!
Love this video! I'm gonna be using it to try and get my other friends hooked on lancer :3
There aren't many video essay/reviews of tabletop games from what I could find. What a treat to find yours!
Yaay, Lancer! Awesome stuff :D
Gunna share this with my players right away.
I backed lancer but didnt get to play it until this year. I think the themes we were exploring were a little different but it is incredibly fun
Me and my friends are currently writing a lancer series in a dead zone star cluster far from union control but already peppered with far-fielders. The powers that be have stalled Union for decades but are losing their grip and the series starts with personal stakes that just so happen to coincide with these corporate powers' death throws. While the first season has Union as this looming thing in the BG, most major players speak on and know of it. HORUS is at first treated like this anarchist (republican's view) threat that everyone's afraid of, but as they meet more HORUS users, they realize it's a tool that cool gay people and libertarian chuds can both use and it's up to the cool people to keep it cool. Harrison armory has nominal control over a former baronic world and a baron seeks the power of an exceptionally paracausal NHP and Balor to free his world (to then rule as a tyrant) and he must be stopped. The main group starts as contractors for SSC, but after doing awful immoral jobs that hurt the MCs sense of responsibility and morals, they brave it as free booters until they recontract as Union Lancers.
I thin it's a really cool setting within Lancer to play with the Utopia exists and is expanding thing. Hearing kids who grew up with powerful printers as myths talk about how Union has them. Seeing SSC Lancers contend with the freeflow of information, getting afraid, then coming to understand that unfamiliarity isn't evil. (Also that price gauging and lording money over people is bad.) It's just a prime time for people hurt by what the world was, healed by what Union-types have made it become. You can see the missions get more hopeful and characters (ftmp) cope better and learn and grow. I love it so much, I can't wait to drop it in the discord for feedback :)
Love the ideas and commentary on the setting. Will say I do have one note on Harrison Armory. It's not a monarchy, it's a dictatorship. Harrison the 2nd and Harrison the 3rd are clones of Harrison the 1st. Also, the reason we are one Harrison the 3rd, is because the 2nd broke the treaty with Ra and tired to study Transhumanism in an attempt to become immortal. Ra showed up and deleted him and his research.
May the Algorithm bless you for this wholesome video.
Also süüüüß.
Awesome video 😎 I'm not much of an actual table-top player, but that stuff seems really cool. Might check out Tactics at some point 👀
One of Northstar's mechs is called Blackbeard 😂
I love this whole thing except the part where the game isnt on a hexmap
Nice clickbait you know how to attract your own kind
I got Lancer in the same bundle, but I’ve been unable to play it as my previous RPG group fell apart mid Blades in the Dark and then 2020 happened.
about HA:
have a rank system
from less than citizen to the military monarchy
its starship troopers but even more extreme
"service guarantees citizenship"
Very cool, adding on my list of ttrpg's ill never get to play (:
Real
THE BAIL FUND AND LEGAL DEFENSE FUND YES I LOVE THAT I GOT RECCD YOUR CHANNEL
I love lancer
I got the V2 pre-release for Xmas! Can't wait for it to get here!
Imagine talking about villains of the setting and not saying anything about the Karrakin Trade Baronies and the Ungrateful who are fighting for survival against them (with the help of some Horus tech).
Also, SSC is absolutely the eugenics ones, though I'd say they are one of the less horrifying versions of it as their colonies have to first opt in to that and can later decide to opt out of it and individuals can do the same. They are still manipulative bastards who use positive coercive measures to get you to sign on. This puts them, imo, as the second least problematic of the big 4, with the least problematic probably being Horus. Or maybe they are flipped and Horus is more problematic.
Regardless, all of the big 4 have huge problems that can make them an easy go-to villain for a campaign. Not the entire corp, but perhaps a branch. For instance the sector governor of a sector of SSC colonies, the trade commander for IPSN in the Long Rim, an independent cell of a secretive hacker collective that wants to 'free people' by forcibly changing their way of life that they are happy with. Anything Harrison Armory.
You know, after hearing how helldivers 2 uses a live service for the game, I kinda want to run a west marshes lancer game where you are trying to suppress and crush an evil kulak rebellion in a sector, bringing it back under control in the name of Fully-Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism and the 2nd Committee, all the while outside forces also try and bring the sector under their control such as the extra dimensional forces calling themselves the “Spawn Of The Dark Powers” which wish to spread the greatest evil which the 2nd committee has banned, Religion, as well as the fascistic forces of the “Iron Armies Of Vanwrich”, which believe the flesh is weak and the master race will be forged in steel, and the many corporate states such as “Biotech”, who wish to use the war to sell Chemical and Bio weapons and take control of worlds which they will use to test out their products and so their more mad scientist members can create whatever horrid monstrosities or deadly disease’s faraway from them.
I know it isn’t exactly what you like Lancer but I would like to hear of this, it would be pretty cool running a west marshes game where many parties work together in one massive conflict
Another thing about Harrison Armory, like Harrison the 2nd, and 3rd aren’t actually like relatives of the 1st Harrison they’re clones with the 2nd backstabbing the first and selling them out to Union for his crimes just to run the company and the 3rd isn’t any better than the last two.
Since cloning becomes more unstable each generation Harrison the 2nd and 3rd have been obsessed with immortality too.
IPS-N; like if Amazon also had a private army
Lancer knows how to give enough hooks but not give you everything as a closed answer. The creators knew what they were writing for.
Damn that pirates vs IPS-N campaign sounds like so much fun, I would love to find someone to play that with
Even tho pirates too uses IPS-N frames (and often maybe even be sponsored by them to hit compeditors ships)
Have to drop my obligatory Tolkien defense here - his works sure aren't perfect, but he was certainly capable of realization and changing his ways, for example he originally described the dwarves as being a bit "like the Jews" but then ww2 happened and he changed it because he didnt mean it in any condescending way and despised the third reich and what they did to these people. I'm sure if he was still alive he would've changed other parts of his stories as well, as society progressed and people became more sensitive to things like this.
With certainty, he would've really despised how some right wing people love lotr only because it's mostly white people being heroes.
I’ve wanted to get into lancer for ages (got the new physical edition on pre order) but I have absolutely nobody in my group who is gonna play mech TTRPGs, sadly. The setting is great. It’s kinda like Deep Space Nine and Macross had a baby. It’s awesome to have a setting where queerness is baked in too.
I had no idea there was a video game adaption in progress (which I just backed) so thanks for that.
On the topic of Harrison Armoury, it's actually a rather complex faction all things considered. Their ties to fascism is quite obvious but the draft of the field guide for it talks about how the current dictator (Harrison III) is in the early stages of a decolonisation project, putting him at odds with the more anthro-chauvenist factions within the Armoury. It's also very meritocratic, offering a level of upwards mobility present in very few modern day nations.
But of course, it's still an expansionist, warmongering nation. For all of the benefits it provides to the people that live within its borders, it's that much worse to the people outside it. They're building a utopia like Union is, only they're trying to do it through iron and blood.
They're obviously still bad guys, but personally, I think they're less comically evil than then profit driven eugenicists of SSC or the oppressive baronies who seek to maintain the power of their upper class above all else.
oh my god you sound like you would be the best DM for a game of Lancer
I’ve been playing with way too many people who just don’t seem to get it, and try to have us throw in with Karrakis or the HA
say. have you ever read the "culture" series? i feel you may dig it
Wait. WAIT!
Is that a lancer videogame in the background? Where? How? When? HOW MUTCH?!
Is A Fan Game?
Gonna run a campaign of it next week on Discord. 😊.
I wanna learn more about Lancer. The setting makes more sense than Battle tech. And while I like Battletech and I love how they do mechs in that game, Battletech comes off like if it wals written by Reddit from the 1980s.
Oh my god trans creator talking about weird niche video games Yes i love being trans Youre SO COOL MEOUW 🐈 😻
Frank Herbert’s homophobia always puzzled me. I wish he had left the series in the hands of his son Bruce. The whole series needed more gay. Jodorwoski understood that.
There are no aliens in Lancer.
Not anymore 😢
Goodbye, old [friend/love]
There quite literally are at least on other alien species the egragorians
@@PeachyBeins There are no aliens in Lancer.
@@PeachyBeins Not anymore
@morepenguins6247 there's alien fauna. Just not sentient aliens. Anymore.
"Im a goth trans dork who makes videos for other goth trans dorks"
Me, an indie cis geek: hell yea, sis
(Good vid btw :) )
Here's a few ideas for campaign villains:
IPS-Northstar, doing some exploitative shit (They just want *_lods of emone_* )
Smith-Shimano, doing some eugenics shit ('We Don't Sell People™' is half their motto.)
Harrison Armories, doing some imperialist shit (Be it Rome style, 'Murica style, or Russia style, they do it all! Also where the Space Soviets in SecCom went)
Horus, doing some _weird_ shit (Think Wilbur Whately in _The Dunwich Horror,_ trying to shepherd something beyond their control and they know it.)
The Karrakin Trade Baronies, doing some Game of Thrones shit (Feudalism is Fun™)
The Aunic Ascendancy, doing some oppressive shit (They're religious fanatics, enough said.)
Ra, doing some _bizzare_ shit (Ra, aka MONIST-1, is Computer Cthulhu. It intentionally named itself after _that_ Ra.)
Not trans but I'm still a goth dork who loves Lancer... So two of those would convince me to watch this. X3
Great video, I remember when my GM first started explaining the setting the first thing that popped into my mind was Valery Sablin and his "wholesome route" in the Hoi4 TNO mod.
Even though I'm a Cis white Libertarian male that likes tits, rock and roll and monster trucks I can appreciate what true socialism looks like and its utopian outlook.
И Ленин такой молодой,
И юный Октябрь впереди
I must ask, what game are you playing in the background?
It's a game in development called Lancer Tactics. Link should be in the description
@@juliette-necro merci.
Where can we find the story about the genocide of the sapient species?
I dont view core worlds and union as purely utopian. I think it's trying and well meaning but ultimately I think uniting the whole humanity under one banner is impossible.
What is the table-top simulator you are using during the video? It looks awsome?
Its a fan videogame
Lancer Tactics
Can you please add the phrase "trans mechs" to this video's search tags? Your title is a little generic and I'm having trouble finding this video when I search for it to show other people. And/or play Lancer tactics again.
Your thumbnail is so amazing that I can't remember the actual title. "Why I fell in love with Lancer"
what are you using to run that game? looks sick
It's a demo for a future video game release called Lancer Tactics. Link to the itch page should be in my description.
My dumbass who have never heard of absolute gems (I’m blind.)
What game are you playing?
Lancer Tactics! the link to the itch.io page is in the description.
A real quick point cause I was going to bring up the fact that I don't like Lancer's setting specifically because of the hopefulness of everything. I love settings where everything is shades of grey, some more grey than others, and some you don't even realize is grey at the beginning. Its the reason why Warhammer 40k is by far my favorite sci-fi setting. Like the Imperium is "Good Guys" but thats only really because everyone else is way worse save the Eldar, and maybe the Tau. You root for the Imperium not because they are good, but because they are the best of bad options.
But overall lancer lore is surprisingly deep, like digging into Ra and Blink gates and all the strange eldritch tech is some of the most fun I've had in a lore dive since first getting into 40k lore.
what VTT are you playing LANCER on ?
It's a video game adaptation of Lancer called Lancer Tactics! Link to the itch.io page in the description.
@@juliette-necro thank you very much for the speedy reply :D
and for your videos (have been enjoying your content even i'm just Ken (a cis nerd dork)
im a trans dork but im not goth can i be here?
What video game are you playing in the video
I'm listening to you rattle off bits about the villain factions and also remembering my background as a shithead rightist and going "Hm, but none of these seem sufficiently Heel-y to me. They're all JUST corporations, albeit ones with good hooks for spicy conflict. I need some proper wannabe Imperium knockoffs who think Union is occupying Holy Terra to beat the shit out of."
How do you live with yourself having been a rightist?
IMHO you can never be fully redeemed.
@@arinthel Shove off with that attitude! People change! Attitudes like yours is why the right gains more momentum because you lock out any other path.
@@SuperTamaru Are you mad about your comrade being too honest a bit upset they disclosed who will be purged once the more overt and numerous enemy is dealt with LOL.
The lancer writers telling me what to write is the most obnoxious thing I've ever seen any ttrpg creators do. And I played magic the gathering when invoke prejudice was still legal to use in matches.
(I'm black so it was the funniest thing in earth to put in you're deck)
NVM this whole video is as obnoxious as a racist mtg player
are regular trans dorks also welcome here? 👉👈
Sounds good, but the fact that you can't play as an alien it's still a wasted oportunity for me
Im not trans can I still watch your content?
:{ D
Fantastic Video!! :) 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 ❤️💖❤️💖