Games - Mekton

	Games - Mekton

Mekton is a role-playing game which centers on the conventions of mecha anime and science-fiction (although it can easily enough be adapted to other genres like police drama or high fantasy). It has seen several editions since its introduction in 1984, the most recent, Mekton Zeta (メクトン Z; a reference to the seminal mecha anime series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam) being first published in 1994. The use of katakana to represent the title of the game begins with the "Zeta" edition and may or may not be carried over into future editions. A "fourth edition," usually referred to as Mekton Double Zeta and assumed to be using the Fuzion System rules (Mekton II and Mekton Z use the older Interlock System), has been rumored to be in development by publishers R. Talsorian Games since 1997. Mekton is a moderately supported system (though no new official material has been released since 1996), with a very active albeit small fanbase, centered around the Mekton Zeta Mailing List, an ezmlm based mailing list active since the fall of 1996.

Within the context of the RPG, mecha are referred to as "mektons," abbreviated as "meks" and sometimes alternately called "suits". Several official settings have been published.

Mekton Zeta has a more pronounced anime influence than the previous two editions; the full cover title of this edition if read in Japanese and translated into English reads "Super Dimension Mobile Warrior Mekton Z", the title of the game referring to both Macross (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross) and Gundam (Mobile Suit Gundam).

Editions of Mekton

"White Box" Mekton (1984)
Mekton (1984)
Mekton II (1987) - converted Mekton to run on the Interlock System, introduced in Cyberpunk 2020
.
* Mekton Techbook/Mekton Technical System (MTB/MTS) (1991) - a MAJOR conversion of the mecha-building system of Mekton
Mekton Zeta (1994) - general update and improvement of Mekton II
* Mekton Zeta Plus (メクトン Z プラス) (1994) - general update and improvement of the Mekton Techbook
Gundam Senki (2000) - Japanese language Mobile Suit Gundam RPG using the Mekton system. Scheduled for US release, release date unspecified at this time.

Official Settings

Algol - A "grab bag" setting in an alternate universe, mixing many different styles of anime together. This setting originated with the first edition of Mekton, but fell into disuse after line editor Michael McDonald left R. Talsorian.
Mekton Empire - A space opera setting taking hints from Captain Harlock, Gundam and Voltron, takes place in the distant Bendar Spiral Galaxy.
Jovian Chronicles
- A heavily Gundam inspired licensed setting created by Dream Pod 9, set in the 23rd Century. This would later become a separate game using Dream Pod 9's Silhouette System.
Invasion Terra - A Macross-like setting in the future of 2105.
Imperial Star - Very similar to Mekton Empire but set in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Quicksilver Blues - Unreleased as of 2004 (complete since at least 2000). R. Talsorian continues to insist that they are waiting for the "right time" to release new Mekton material. As of 2005, Quicksilver Blues is being reworked into a new and separate role-playing game called "Era³" by its original developers, .
Starblade Battalion - A Gundam-like setting, set in the far future of the Cyberpunk 2020
world (AD 2180).

Notable Fan Settings

Because Mekton has a relatively low amount of official support, and because it is designed as a universal "tool kit" role-playing system rather than being themed around a particular anime series (though fans of the system note that it is decidedly skewed toward "hard SF" type mecha anime, like Gundam and Macross), many fan settings have appeared for it since its release. Some of the most notable are indicated below.

- Mark Chase; a particularly notable early fan setting, including an original story based on its campaign setting.
- Christian Conkle; based on the official Algol campaign setting.
- Christian Conkle; based on Bubblegum Crisis.
; based primarily on a cross between Galaxy Fraulein Yuna
and Teenagers from Outer Space.
- A semi-official setting created by the Mekton Z Mailing List and its spin-off, the Virtual Mekton Mailing List. Loosely based on the video game Virtual On and the manga Break-Age.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Mekton ]

Games - Mekton

Editions of Mekton

Official Settings

Notable Fan Settings

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