biomechttrpg

[biomechttrpg]

I'm also a writer I promise

Working on the alpha mission, finally. I want to have something that is more than a couple notes for testing. This will expand into a full adventure for the full release of the game!

This is all rough draft material, so don't get too crazy on critique

[biomechttrpg]

BIOMECH ON ITCH.IO

[biomechttrpg]

HI! Been a minute, been real busy with life. Great news, there has still been lots of progress despite it all! V0.5.2 was tested, and v0.5.3 is mostly complete! I'll tell ya what is complete though... The cover art!

@mechanicalblue.bsky.social did a fantastic job, and was wonderful to work with! We hope to work together again in the future for more art, so keep an eye out! Below I'll post some of the concept work that got us to where we are, and a little goof I made cause people kept making the same comparison

Just a couple looks at steps along the way to the final piece. We have the initial ideas for the cover, and then the first coloring of the cover we decided to go with. It was always a treat to see this shape into what we have

also, despite this being a TTPRG, friends kept making the comparison to 90's game boxart. I was provided the layers to the piece, so there are minor adjustments to make it fit the format.

Just a for funsies bit, I am not making a video game!!!

Anywho, still cracking away at writing. another test soon I hope (I have places to be, so we'll see)

Truly, we're close to the alpha, i can feel it. what comes next is polish so players like you can actually pick this up and look at it properly! Thanks for reading!

[biomechttrpg]

HI! Been a minute, been real busy with life. Great news, there has still been lots of progress despite it all! V0.5.2 was tested, and v0.5.3 is mostly complete! I'll tell ya what is complete though... The cover art!

@mechanicalblue.bsky.social did a fantastic job, and was wonderful to work with! We hope to work together again in the future for more art, so keep an eye out! Below I'll post some of the concept work that got us to where we are, and a little goof I made cause people kept making the same comparison

Just a couple looks at steps along the way to the final piece. We have the initial ideas for the cover, and then the first coloring of the cover we decided to go with. It was always a treat to see this shape into what we have

also, despite this being a TTPRG, friends kept making the comparison to 90's game boxart. I was provided the layers to the piece, so there are minor adjustments to make it fit the format.

Just a for funsies bit, I am not making a video game!!!

Anywho, still cracking away at writing. another test soon I hope (I have places to be, so we'll see)

Truly, we're close to the alpha, i can feel it. what comes next is polish so players like you can actually pick this up and look at it properly! Thanks for reading!

[biomechttrpg]

Seperate art post, GO!

Artist:

[biomechttrpg]

Ok, so I don't have a ton of access to my files since I moved everything off of Google Drives. We're this is going to be a long post with multiple sections, and there will be more down the line with some more detailed bits. Feel free to send asks with any questions, I am on vacation and will answer anything in my downtime!

Everything neat is under the cut, including an exclusive sneak peak at the cover art (hastily watermarked, oops)

Overview

BIOMECH is a game played with a d100, or 2d10. Players take on the role of a Pilot, who then pilots a BIOMECH; both providing different stats for the player to keep track of.

Combat consists of skill checks where a player must roll under their skill threshold to succeed on an attack and manage stats such as Blood, Strain, and HEAT to keep from falling in combat. Combat differs slightly depending on if a Pilot is in their BIOMECH or not, as BIOMECH combat adds the HEAT system; which alters the action economy of the game.

Will you find your way in this war-torn galaxy? Do you side with the establishment who holds all the power, or are you a renegade seeking retribution from the powerful? What drives you to fight on in a never ending conflict, cut off from the rest of the known universe? All these answers can be found in spilled blood and mangled steel.

Setting and Introduction

Faster than light travel was a boon shared among the universe, spread far and wide. Galaxies full of life were suddenly closer to each other than ever before, and ways of life unheard of were uncovered. War happened, of course; but life moved in the direction of progress and collaboration. New technologies were rapidly uncovered and shared, and the race for resources was as easy as going a different direction than someone else.

SR-A-316 was a galaxy teeming with resources and life. The Contact Wars began, and came to a close within 5 years, where the native species, The Xern and the A’Kesh, managed to retain control over trade in and out of the galaxy, as well as control over licensing resource extraction sites. Shortly after, SR-A-316 was being built up into a massive trading hub. Many large companies began staking claims in the area to make profit. Most notable was Archon Research Institute, a leader in the field of FTL and communication technologies. Large human colonies began sprouting up near ARI sites, making then a notable presence in the galaxy’s population as they began mingling with other species, creating large and diverse cities.

371 years ago, SR-A-316 was cut off from the rest of the known universe.

All hell broke loose.

No ships could get in or out of the galaxy, communications were cut as well. To SR-A-316, there was nothing but inky blackness beyond the last few stars in it’s cluster; the universe had ceased to exist for them.

War broke out shortly after, fueled initially by panic. ARI split into six different corporations, causing a massive shift in what was once a centralized power. Factions formed and died out quickly, with the Six ARI fragments becoming the strongest voices in their territories. Each one began making weapons of war with their vast resources and wealth, and shortly after, BIOMECHs were created; half-living, titanic war machines grown and built in vats. Each one, a union of flesh and steel meant for killing. Each ARI fragment had their own formula, and each one has been tightly kept. Nobody but what are now known as The Manufacturers make BIOMECHs. Anyone who starts making one on their own either stops, or disappears to never be seen again.

The Manufacturers took on new names, all of them leaving the Archon Research Institute name behind. BIOUNION, Khlek Armory, Xa’Tarr Biosystems, Corvus Assembly, Red River Corporation, and Solus Biotechnic are their new identities. These companies almost never directly attack each other, instead electing to fight proxy wars through smaller factions that they supply. These six hold the most power, wealth, and influence in the galaxy. They profit off of every war and conflict in their territory, supplying weapons for anyone who will take them; and for cheap, snuffing out business competition before it can start.

The galaxy persists in a state of war. When things slow down, they always seem to rile back up again. New factions pop up and burn out constantly, while few manage to exist for an extended period of time. Resources become more and more scarce, and those in power only gain more power due to the wealth they can use while everyone fights for scraps. The Manufacturers sit at the top, doling out supplies to gain control over factions, territory, and the people residing in them for their own purposes.

The Manufacturers supply weapons to anyone willing to buy them, and even train the best of the best to become Pilots. Once a Pilot is trained, a BIOMECH is assembled for them. These Pilots become machines of war, meant to destroy opposition with the highest efficiency.

Pilots undergo rigorous physical and mental training, as well as multiple surgeries for implants and body modifications. Pilots also regularly undergo intense psychotherapy to keep from snapping under the mental pressure. They become their BIOMECH; linked at either a port in the spinal cord or under their plating. Their nervous system, vascular system, etc. becomes one with the BIOMECH. In short, the body of the Pilot floats in a small chamber within the BIOMECH, while their consciousness is transferred to the BIOMECH, which acts as their body. The Pilot becomes the BIOMECH, taking on whatever form their BIOMECH may be. A BIOMECH does not always resemble a humanoid structure, and will vary greatly between different BIOMECHs.

Pilots may lose the line between their body and a BIOMECH; this usually results in violent outbursts, unpredictable behavior, delusions, and suicidal tendencies. Pilots should seek rest and time to undergo mental exercises between missions, as constant stress is more likely to shatter the mind of even the most experienced pilots.

BIOMECH Pilots have been noted to rarely “Come back from the dead”. It has been concluded that these Pilots were miraculously saved by systems in the BIOMECH, altering them forever as their body integrated partially with the BIOMECH to survive. The Dredge walk among other species, and can even pilot BIOMECHs, so many return to the program to continue piloting. Not much is known about the exact reason that these pilots manage to survive, but they are never quite the same person they were before they became one of The Dredge. Some go feral, becoming nothing more than bestial forms of their former selves. Others remain much closer to their past self, and some change entirely to walk different paths. The Dredge are radically altered physically, however. Skin tends to become thicker and more rugged, flesh shifts to hang differently on their bones, and some even gain or lose appendages, organs, etc.; they essentially become unique lifeforms.

War rages on, the galaxy fights for control, and an unknown force holds every living thing captive. Living war machines flatten battlefields for profit, and the dead walk amongst the living. The fate of SR-A-316 is in constant turmoil.

Direct Inspiration

BIOMECH was spawned from a super vivid nightmare I had in late 2023. I woke up from it and hastily jotted down a few ideas. After passing it around some friends, I was encouraged to chase this idea. As the game has grown, other inspirations have become clear. These have a wide range from Gurren Lagann, to the works of H.R. Giger.

There are aspects taken from the core of the cyberpunk genre and played with; mainly dealing with your sense of self and what you are in and out of the machine. Pilots and BIOMECHs merge and become one, and Pilots must be able to manage having multiple different bodies, with only one of those bodies being the skin they were born with.

Concept art and WIP Coverart

First, I want to point out I am not the artist responsible for these (@JetmanJay), I do the writing. I've been working with MechanicalBlue over on Bluesky.

Needless to say, their work has been great! Please excuse the hasty watermarks on some things, I don't have a good way of doing that on my phone! But I'm going to be sharing some yet-to-be-posted concept art alongside some that has been posted. You guys get the first peek at it since I, uh, just straight up forgor about you. Oops!

MB is still working on the final version of the coverart, so more to come!

Anyway, I'll make more posts here as they come to mind, and posts about specific mechanics will come once I am home and can look over my work. Feel free to ask me anything!

[biomechttrpg]

The idea of becoming a mech when you pilot it is not foreign, but i have blurred those lines just a little more in this setting.

The consequence is that I have made an avenue for other perverts to do weird sex shit in my setting with their sense of self if they want.

This is good, actually.

Serious posts about what has been happening during development when I'm not in a car.

[biomechttrpg]

Look: updated

Logo and banner by https://bsky.app/profile/mechanicalblue.bsky.social

[biomechttrpg]

I uh, forgot I had this account. It's been a fucking ride. Guess today will be for updating you guys here, all through the power of my phone while on vacation

[biomechttrpg]

Forgot to post here, but closed alpha testing has been scheduled. An open alpha test will follow not long after and then I'll be putting up the alpha for anyone to try on itch.io while I get to work on the beta

[biomechttrpg]

Yeah, hi. Working on a TTRPG that has this in it

Thinking more about Mech dysphoria today.

Stepping out of your cockpit and stumbling because you don't have the right number of legs.

Blinking your eyes out of sync because you don't have the right number anymore, don't have access to on board cameras the way you're supposed to.

Struggling to grab and pick things up because you have the wrong number of fingers.

Failing to recognize your face in the mirror without layers of armor plating over it.

Feeling like a brain pulled from its body and forced to function independently.

[biomechttrpg]

Working on test characters, and having fun with some special ability ideas. Here's one of em.

Closed alpha testing should start somewhat soon, just gotta wrap test characters and test. After a little polish, there will be an open alpha release with the premade characters for anyone to try!

[biomechttrpg]

Mech pilots who are a meatsack filled with drugs and dysphoria > Mech pilots who are normal at the function

[biomechttrpg]

Mech pilots who are a meatsack filled with drugs and dysphoria > Mech pilots who are normal at the function

[biomechttrpg]

Little BIOMECH update (:

BIOMECH is very soon leaving pre-alpha, and I am working on some closed alpha test groups! Once I get a beta, I plan on doing something more open. we'll see how that rolls out. In the meantime while I hear back from some test readers, I wanna talk about some inspirations, and some fun things I have come across and been pointed to. I won't count the weird nightmare I had that caused me to start writing this, but it certainly is a thing that inspired the whole project. - First: Alien. I watched the move at an age that was probably too young, but it left such an impression on me and has remained my favorite horror movie for a long, long time (still is). I think my fascination for body horror stems from my exposure to this movie. - Gurren Lagann: It took my friends 3-4 years to finally get me to watch it? I almost bounced off due to the high amount of Weeb Shit (put a shirt on, kid) but it ended up becoming one of my favorites. There are a couple things that are inspired by a fighting spirit and never giving up; BIOMECH may be horror, but it isn't hopeless.

- Metal Gear Solid: While things *are* in an endless war, I do like to think the message in the base writing is anti-war. I could be here for 4 hours talking about MGS; so I will spare you and say that while it is an inspiration, I'm not looking to do a bunch of Kojima level writing. - Star Wars: I grew up watching the tapes my mom and dad had, i can't help loving it, and I bet there are notes of star war in this thing. It is an inescapable pit in my brain. - Bladerunner: This one is not nearly as surface level, and may only really appear in writing about the system/in a game module I want to write. But I really like how the movies explore humanity, a sense of self, and more. I won't go into a ton of detail here yet. Maybe once I showcase a game module for people to run.

Some other mentions!

Warframe! I started playing it again in the past few months, and some ideas run somewhat parallel to things I had planned for BIOMECH. It's been real fun to play it after barely ever touching it.

Anti-capitalism. Capitalism is the bad guy in the writing. Granted, a GM can use the system to make any story they want, but capitalism fuels war in this story. War is a never-ending evil that fills the pockets of the rich and keeps the rest suppressed and fighting each other for their "all-powerful" leaders.

Multiple game systems, but FFG Star Wars and Call of Cthulhu are the most influential on the system I am making. In the end, I am making something I find fun and interesting and following the path I want. But these games have deeply influenced how I formed some of the base designs.

Pacific Rim/Armored Core/Other Big Mech Stuff: I just like big robot, ok?

And more! I'm gonna let people try and pick some out though (: Now, the one I haven't seen. And some alpha readers, friends, and viewers have asked if i was influenced. I have never seen Neon Genesis Evangelion. I now will not be watching it until I am done with the beta, I feel that would be against my interests at this point when it comes to making something that is authentically mine. Anyway, hope this was somewhat interesting to read. More to come!

[biomechttrpg]

There is one biting weapon (2 if you're loose on definition) in the closed alpha as of right now. there will be more

Important Question: Will there be biting biomechs (please)

I mean, there is a potential. I want to start working on how the game runs this week and get some basic combat rules down. A biting weapon isn't off the table at all though, considering pilots are floated in a chamber inside the core of the mech (I'll get into that later, with a tag for body horror)

Tl;dr, I promise nothing, but that is cool and would likely be a bioweapon as well (: