Leyline Press Blog

One of the key mechanics that makes Salvage Union works is the numerous Systems, Modules and Abilities that allow players to directly ask The Mediator (GM) questions and get true answers from them. For example the Spectrum Mech, which can be piloted at Tech 1, the starting level of play, has the following Mech Chassis Ability.  Data Scanner: The Spectrum is a mobile data repository that has all manner of information stored within it. It is able to scan objects to both gain information about them and store that data to access at a later time.  Range: Close // Short...

One of the core design goals of Salvage Union was to create a simple, narrative focussed Mech game that was easy and fun to play.  Many Mech games people are familiar with such as Lancer or BattleTech are usually quite complicated, crunchy games. A few notable rules lite exceptions such as the Mecha Hack exist but the focus tends to be on crunch and tactical combat within the genre. We wanted to create something different, a Mech roleplaying game that was pick up and play and encouraged players to explore and engage with the game world and roleplay without worrying...

Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games was one of the earliest old school D&D retro clones, released on 2007. Early retroclones such as Labyrinth Lord birthed out of a realisation that the Open Gaming License set out by Wizard's of the Coast could be used to effectively reprint the original editions of Dungeons and Dragons. This was a means to keep these rules sets alive and be able to produce new compatible adventures and content for them. Users on forums such as Dragonsfoot were some of the first to discuss these ideas and this led to systems such as Labyrinth Lord being conceived.  As the foreword of Labyrinth Lord states." This...

In our last article we explored why skill systems and modifiers didn’t work for Salvage Union.  One of the main reasons people want to have skill systems and modifiers in a tabletop roleplaying game is because of niche protection.  Players within a tabletop roleplaying game want to feel that their character is good within their defined role. The player who picks a melee combat focussed class wants to feel like their character is more apt in melee combat compared to the character who has picked a stealth based class. That stealth based player wants to feel like their character excels...

This is part of a series of design blogs exploring the development of Salvage Union a post-apocalyptic mech tabletop roleplaying game currently live on Kickstarter here. 

One of the most common pieces of playtest feedback we get for Salvage Union is to add stat modifiers, advantage or additional die bonuses or some variation thereof to the games core d20 mechanic. This article will explore why this is a bad idea for Salvage Union due to its different approach compared to other tabletop roleplaying games that do use such systems.  

Salvage Union runs off of a core d20 variable resolution mechanic. This mechanic is flat for all rolls and both pilot characters and mechs all use this same table with no additional modifiers. There’s 5 different success levels as you can see below.