Invid Invasion
"Invid Invasion" is a Robotech campaign, run in 1996 with the San Francisco-area RPG group.
The campaign follows the adventures of the player characters on the gulf coast from Florida to Texas on during an alien occupation. The campaign story is plot-based, and the characters reflect the war-ravaged condition of the Earth and combat orientation of the characters. Some of the characters are part of the freedom fighter's movement or independent operators fighting against the Invid, while others are wandering adventurers scavenging the ruins of the old world and eking out a living the best they can. Their motives are altruistic, or self-serving, or a little bit of both.
With John taking a break from his long-running ESWAT campaign, the average attendance was four players per episode. The list of players includes Boris, Greg, Jeremy, John, Karin, Ron, and Steve. The position of Games Master is performed by Joel. Game sessions are played at John's home. The first episode was played on April 27, 1996, and continued a weekly basis until June 29, 1996, with the game sessions happening on Saturday evenings. The campaign entailed a 10-episode story arc, which ended when the Mitchell family moved back to Texas.
Campaign Setting
Human life teeters on the brink of extinction. Civilization has been thrown into an upheaval and industry is gone. There are no big thriving cities, only ruins where humans try to reclaim what they can. There are no more factories, no manufacturing plants, no refineries, no television stations, radio or newspapers. Worse, there are no global or even regional governments. What remains are little pockets of humanity clinging to survival. Some cling to scavenged relics of the old world and old laws. Others have rebuilt little towns and hamlets, mostly farming communities like those of America during the 1800's. Still others have fallen into tribal societies, living like the Native Americans of the Americas or jungle tribes. Some are ex-soldiers turned mercenaries, some wild gangs or criminals. But mostly, there is wilderness, wastelands and the Invid.
In this world, the one global government, the RDF and Southern Cross are fading memories of a shattered past. Yet there are still men and women who will not give up the fight. The old soldiers of the RDF and Southern Cross, survivors of the REF assault wave to free Earth, and a whole new generation of people who will not succumb to alien domination. Resistance fighters who strike out at the Invid enslavers. Individuals who fight alone, groups large and small, warriors who use the values and weapons of the RDF/REF and fight under that banner, or as the secret freedom fighters who fight as a network of teams and individuals across the world.
Player Characters
The main function of this campaign is a plot-driven story line with character just trying to survive the Invid-occupied Earth. No matter what forces arrive later, the Invid will always outnumber the humans after their invasion has wiped out most of humanity. At the outset of the campaign, each player will start with one character. All players will roll randomly for stats and skill benefits, but can choose their own background. Humans are the only race allowed, to mitigate the issue with clones and hybrids.
Important NPCs
As the campaign is based along the Florida to Texas Gulf Coast and other areas, the players have ample opportunity to meet and establish a variety of NPC contacts, allies, and enemies. Each NPC had a different significance to the campaign. Minor NPCs tended to add enrichment to the main plot points, while major NPCs offered a perspective which either complements the players or adds an adversarial aspect to the campaign.
At the outset of the campaign, any 2nd Reclamation Fleet PCs are part of various emergency crash landings back on Earth as the Invid for overwhelms the REF forces as they attack en masse when the REF armada arrives in Earth's orbit. Any non-REF characters happen to be trying to survive in where most of the space-faring PCs will land.
Episode Guide
Each weekend, the players assembled to play what has been designated as an episode. Each week, a recap of the most recent episode’s happenings was posted to allow those who have been missing for many or few episodes to get a feel for what they have missed. Any postings on this website have the same information given out each week via write-ups, although much of the personal commentary was left out.
Places of Note
The Gulf Coast is made of many inlets, bays, and lagoons. The coast is also intersected by numerous rivers. Ringing the Gulf Coast is the Gulf Coastal Plain, while the western portions of the Gulf Coast are made up of many barrier islands and peninsulas. These landforms protect numerous bays and inlets providing as a barrier to oncoming waves. The central part of the Gulf Coast consists primarily of marshland. The eastern part of the Gulf Coast is dotted with many bays and inlets.
The main plot of the campaign revolved around the encounters taking place along the Gulf Coast, particularly in the former state of Texas, but going as far as Cuba.
Rules and Redundancy
The main goal of the campaign is to have fun. Unfortunately, there are times when rules can come into conflict when players are attempting to achieve their goals. House Rules allow for situations like these to be mitigated when there is insufficient information to deal with specific encounters. The Redundancy aspect reflects on additional content which adds depth and complexity to the campaign and clears up any gray areas.
Weapons Locker
Core rule books contain a plethora of melee and ranged weapons for the players to choose from. However, there are times when the characters encounter weapons and items of power that go beyond the scope of what is readily available for purchase. Herein lies an inventory of non-standard items encountered throughout the campaign, from the mundane to the spectacular.
Invid Invasion by Marcos L. Villarroel, Important NPCs by © Palladium Books Inc., Places of Note by Peter Van den Bossche
Artwork for © Palladium Books Inc. on this page is used with express written permission.
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