e , . . I

Take your MEKTON adveptures to the stars! . MEKTON. EMPIRE is a complete sourcebook compatible with

any sciewe fiction campaign. Complete with over a hundred planets, alien races, Galactic Emperors, new rnecha and

. .

0 weapon rules, spac'eships and space ship combat, psionics- - 'even. the mysteries of * the long-vanished Ancients. And

MEKTON EMPIRE allows you to tailor your universe the way y m want it! -

0 - Includes=. * .

Full color map of the Bendar Spiral Galaxy! .Unique "pick your own planets" system!. .

m i Ship. to' ship combat .and 9. ' mecha boar i' * .

0 'f -

- b yours! . .

- R, TALSORIAI - GAMES. INC- c- 1

MEKKTON EMPIRE

R.TalsOrien Gimes. Fox 7356, Berkdey, CA. 94707 Stock #MK1301 ISBN #: 0-937279-19-2

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Four to Save an Empire! “Twelve minutes, fifty-seven seconds to self-destruct, ” said Gai. The Kirini scientist’s green tentacles waved gently, as if in a slight breeze, and there was nothing in that well-modulated voice to betray any sort of nervousness. Gai’s mouthless, globe-like body vibrated only to talk. No one had ever seen a Kirini tremble.

Jef slapped aside the po werlock access panel and began probing with an electronic screwdriver. “For the Empire’s sake, please don’t give me that blasted countdown!” The sound of cone rifle fire echoed from back down the hallway. He cursed as his nervous fingers slipped on the tool and his knuckles scraped on the metal.

“Here, give me that, ” said Kimi impatiently, snatching away the screwdriver and shouldering Jef aside. “Pilots!” She muttered under her breath and absently brushed back her long, strawberry- blonde hair, her busy fingers expertly reprogramming the electronic lock mechanism. “You flyboys always figure you can bluff your way through anything. Well, sometimes you have to know what you’re doing!”

A huge thudding sound behlnd the trio was followed by the patterof feet on themetaldeck. A second later, Krissdiin rounded the corner, her cone rifle raised high. “I had to close the safety door in the corridor, ”she called. The tall, fragile-looking half-Elomani youth stopped suddenly, her golden eyes unfocussing momentarily as she “heard” a telepathic voice.

“They’re bringing up some power suits. They’ll be through that door in a couple of minutes.” With that final word, the powerlock sparked momentarily and the heavy metal door began to rise. With a smile, Kimi tossed the screwdriver back to the scowling Jef. “If you think you can still fly that bucket of bolts in the hangar, we can still make it. ” They turned to enter the mecha hangar, only to find themselves confronted by seven armed figures in the red personal armor of the Humani Prime Party’s elite guard.

“Not so fast, my friends, ”said a voice so familiar even the armor’s tinny speaker could not disguise it. The young and ruthless Baronet deGalen was alive after all! “I think we should discuss this station’s future - for the next ten minutes. ”

“Eleven minutes, five seconds - mark,” said Gai, nonchalantly. “But this is not the time for conversation, Baronet deGalen. Thls spinnerstation is about to be destroyed. lsuggest youand your men launch your shuttles without delay. ”

“lam not afraid to die to advance the cause of Human1 Purity, you bulbous, green mistake of nature!” The Baronet raised his cone rifle, pointing it directly at Krissdiin. “That is, as long as this double- crossing little half-breed dies with me! Now drop your weapons!”

“Any suggestions, flyboy?” asked Kimi sarcastically, raising her hands.

“Just one, ” said Jef, as he dropped a primed power grenade to the deck In front of deGalen’s feet. “Duck!”

Kimi’s reply, if any, was lost in the sound of the explosion ...

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Science Fiction Role Playing Adventures in the Bendar Galactic Empire

WrRten by Guy W . McLimore Game Design by Guy W . McLimore & Greg K . Poehiein

Addfiionai concepts by Gary M . Wiiiiams and Jesse Matonak

Based on the universe created in Mekton /I by Mike Pondsmith

To Barnfa, with love. for ail our tomorrows. and to Dad. with fond remembrance. for ai/ the yesterdays .

MEKTON EMPIREm Written by: Guy Mac Limore With: Mike Pondsmith. Greg Polhein. Jesse Matonak Cover: John Waltrip Interior Art: Maiko Lin. James Takahashi. Ken Nakata. John Williams. Mike Pondsmith Layout& Design: Diana "Friiz" Goldman. Ted Talsorian Editor: Derek Quintanar

Stock #: MK 1301 ISBN # : 093727-15-2 MEKTON EMPIRE Q R.Talsorian Games. Inc., 1990 . All rights reserved . MEKTON ( I . MEKTON EMPIRE & MEK are trademarks of R.Talsorian Gamres. Inc . Any similarity to characters. situations. etc . (without satiric intent) is strictly coincidental .

Table Of Contents Introduction ..................................................... 4

"Variable History" and the Empire Campaign .......... 4 Welcome to the Mekton Empire ............................... 4

What has Gone Before ............................................. 5

A History of the Bendar Spiral Galaxy .......... 7 Historical Summary .................................................. 7 Timeline .................................................................. 11 Biographical Data ................................................... 18

A Guide to the Bendar Spiral Galaxy .......... 27 Planets of the Bendar Spiral Galaxy ...................... 83 . Races of the Bendar Spiral Galaxy ........................ 56 Organizations of the Bendar Spiral Galaxy ............ 67 Creatures of the Bendar Spiral Galaxy .................. 78

Technical Guides .......................................... 83 Weapons ................................................................ 83 Personal Armor ...................................................... 86 Personal Equipment ............................................... 88 Personal Vehicles .................................................. 89 Imperial Mecha ....................................................... 89

Star Gates ................................................................ 93 Starships .................................................................. 94

Mysteries of the Galaxy .............................. 702 . The Bendari Mystery ............................................ 103 . The Aggendi Question ......................................... 104 . The Algoli Puzzle ................................................. 105 . The Elomani Secret .............................................. 106

New Rules for Mekton Empire ................... 109 Psionics .................................................................. 109 . The Psi Potential Statistic ............................ 109 . Psi Skills ....................................................... 110 . Psi-Controlled Mecha ................................... 120 Space Combat Rules ............................................. 121 Building the Better Beast- Animal Creation .......... 126 Lifepath Character Generation ............................... 128

Data Index ....................................................................... 132 Hex Maps ..................................................................... 133 Ship Templates ............................................................ 134

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Introduction Welcome to the Mekton Empire! This book is a supplement to the Mekron /I role playing game, taking that game system beyond the confines of the embattled planet Algol and out among the endless stars of the Bendar galaxy. Along the way, you’ll find adventures with the grand spectacle and scope of classic science fiction in the Japanese animation tradition.

Of course, Japanese animated films are not the only place you can find galaxy-spanning action-adventure. These films have been very influential in the creation of American SF adventure, too. But powersword-wielding heroes, black-armored villains, ultra-fast swooping space fighters, giant walking tanks, swashbuckling action, and intricate, fascinating sub-plots ex- isted in Japanese animation long before they were brought to the West by American filmmakers.

The Mekfon /I role playing game centered on conflicts on the planet Algol, where star-lost castaways built a civilization on a grand scale around wars fought by massive man-shaped fighting machines called Mektons. In this supplement, the focus moves into Algol’s future, when these long-lost children of the mighty Bendar Galactic Empire are reunited with the galactic civiliza- tion they left behind. In Mekfon Empire, the basicgame rules are

the same but the scale is much bigger. Our concerns are with planets, not mere cities, and the combatants are giant empires that unite hundreds of star systems, not just small nations.

Since the scale of the game is bigger, the technology, the heroics and even the sub-plots and relationships must grow bigger to match it. Giant fleets of mile-long star cruisers travel between suns through unbelievably huge super-scientific stargates, while plots that took generations to prepare are hatched in secret by galaxy-wide conspiracies. Even so, the fates of unimaginable trillions of people -thousands of alien races - sometimes come to rest in the hands of a few brave souls. These are our player characters, who now have an entire galaxy in which to seek excitement.

“Variable History” and the Empire Campaign If you don’t already have it, you will need to obtain and become familiar with the Mekfon /I role playing rules. The character creation system, history, technology, and combat rules of that game are the basis for Mekfon ,Empire. You will need to refer to

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Mekton //often for basic rules, and this supplement will assume that you know how to play that game. Mekton Empire adds a number of new rules, which are collected near the end of this book. But the background of Mekton Empire is more important, as it will open up the galaxy to your players.

In many role playing games set in a specific science fiction universe, game Referees are faced with a problem - their characters know too much about the universe in which they are adventuring. Eitherthe game universe is based on a well-known anddocumentedfictionalcreation (suchasabook, movie,orlV series), or the players have read and become familiar with the secrets of that universe by reading the game manuals them- selves! Some game manuals attempt to relieve the problem by leaving out much of the detail about the game world, but this often leaves the Referee with a massive job of “filling in the blanks” for an entire universe.

Mekton Empire introduces the concept of ‘Variable History” to help Referees prepare their campaigns while leaving their players in the dark about the important details of the adventure background. In the sections that follow, the information that is “common knowledge”in the BendarGalactic Empire is presented for both Referees and players to read. A great deal of secret detail information is presented as well, telling about the secrets of history, galactography and current events. But these sections are designed to offer a large number of possibilities, from which the Referee secretly chooses what is “true”for his version of the game universe. No two maps of the Bendar Galactic Empire will be exactly the same, nor will any two lists of emperors, rosters of Imperial Councillors, or answers to the Great Mysteries of the galaxy. In this way, though all campaigns will share some assumptions, no two campaigns anywhere will be exactly alike. As a Referee, you can maintain a level of uncertainty and danger at all times, adding to the fun and excitement of the game.

First, the Referee should read through the entire book to become familiar with the overall scope of the universe. Next, each individual Referee can go through the “variable history” portions of the book and create a unique map, background, and complexion for that Referee’s game. Is the Bendar Galactic Empire a decadent, over-expanded maxi-government where chaos reigns? Is it a tightly-controlled dictatorship that merci- lessly crushes any attempt to exercise individual freedoms? Is it a bright and friendly high-tech paradise threatened from the outside by sinister forces? Or are the outside forces the real voicesoffreedom inthegalaxy? It isuptothe Refereetodecide.

What Has Gone Before It is approximately 300 years since events on Algol chronicled in Mekton / I , and over 2000 years since Algol itself was colo- nized by dissident human scientists, soldiers and civilians who

left rather than swear allegiance to the newly-formed Bendar Galactic Empire. While Algol struggledthroughthe establishment of their own bloody history, the Bendar Galactic Empire consoli- dated their hold on the better part of the known galaxy.

Begun as an alliance of three great star travelling races, the Empire fought war after war to maintain their place in the universe, first against the menacing conquest fleets of the reptilian Aggendi, and later against individuals and groups that threatened to fragment the mighty Empire into smaller regional states.

On Algol, the wars between the Kargan Empire and the Elaran Federated Kingdoms raged over the island nations of the Archipelago. As Algol entered a new ice age, only the warm equatorial waters of the Archipelago remained habitable. Fi- nally, these battered island states banded together with the techno-priesthood of the Brotherhood of Kallicar on the conti- nent of Muria and the lunar and orbital colonies of the Nearside Federation. The world of Algol finally found a restless peace underthewatchful eyeof the Brotherhood, and Mekton technol- ogy was turned toward the exploration and exploitation of space.

In the outer reaches of the Algolian star system, Nearside Federation explorers found a mighty artiiact - a ring of metal and incomprehensibleelectronics nearly a hundred miles across. Eventually, they learned that the ring was a stargate created by the Bendar Galactic Empire. The device had been rendered nonfunctional during their ancestors’ battle with the Aggendi war vessels that left them castaways on Algol in the first place. The discovery of the stargate was kept secret by the Nearsiders and the Brotherhood, who eventually learned enough from it to reactivate the gate’s communications relay station. This put them back in contact with the rest of the long-lost Empire. An informal agreement was struck, giving bits and pieces of ad- vanced Empire technology to the Brotherhood, in hopes they couldcement their control of Algol bythe time the stargate could be completely reactivated.

But the Kargan Empire and Elaran Kingdoms, both uncomfort- able with their status as subject nations being ruled by Muria and their own former colonies in space, finally put aside their differences and joined to throw the Brotherhood off Algol once and for all. It was this Algol Alliance that finally succeeded in reactivating the stargate and rejoining the Empire. Algolians remain as a proud and strong people, but their world is only one corner of a vast galaxy, though still a strategically important corner.

Throughout its history, the focus of Imperial history has been on the planet Monadan, said by sometothe becradleof human (or, in the Imperial language, Human0 civilization. It is here we must turn, long before the colonization of Algol, for the beginnings of our story. ..

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