• Source: Lancer (role-playing game)

Lancer is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game about laser mecha, created by Miguel Lopez and Tom Bloom (né Parkinson-Morgan). The first printing of the core rulebook was published by Massif Press in 2019, followed by an updated edition in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics in 2024. In deliberate contrast to dystopian settings, Lancer is inspired by classic science fiction set in post-scarcity utopias that nevertheless still face problems.




Gameplay


Player characters are mecha pilots, and the setting is on the outskirts of a far-future, post-apocalyptic, technological utopia. Lancer features tactical battle mechanics and detailed character customization. Instead of experience points, Lancer tracks character growth using milestones, allowing players to level up after each mission by hand-picking upgrades from any mech in the game.




Themes


It was important to the creators for Lancer not to be a dystopian sci-fi setting, as they were tired of ''cynical'' sci-fi. They wanted the game to be fundamentally optimistic in its worldview, like classic sci-fi. According to Lopez, Lancer’s setting has a Gramscian-style pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will. The creators wanted player characters to focus on defending something dear to them. To help prioritize this, they avoided a monetary reward system.




Publication history


The first edition of Lancer was independently published by Massif Press in 2019 after a Kickstarter campaign raised over $400,000. In an interview with Luke Shaw for Dicebreaker, the creators attributed their disciplined work ethic on the project to Lopez's recent MFA in Creative Writing and Bloom's previous three years of producing the weekly webcomic Kill Six Billion Demons.
In 2023, Massif Press announced a second printing, to be published as an illustrated hardcover book in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics. The second edition was released in July 2024.




ENNIE Awards protest


Lancer was initially nominated for the 2020 ENNIE Awards for "Best Electronic Book"; however, the creators later asked to be withdrawn from nomination, in protest against a 2017 award for a Lamentations of the Flame Princess supplement. In a public email to the awards committee, Massif Press said that the supplement contained "casual graphic sexual assault and racism."




Official supplements


No Room For A Wallflower: A Lancer Narrative
The Long Rim: A Lancer Setting
The Karrakin Trade Baronies: A Lancer Setting
Operation Winter Scar: A Lancer Narrative
Operation Solstice Rain: A Lancer Narrative
Dustgrave: A Lancer Narrative
Siren's Song: A Mountain's Remorse




References

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