Last week, I was chatting to my friend Victor. He informed me that Palladium had published “Robotech: Shadow Chronicles®, The Role Playing Game.” Well, while we were chatting I went online to the Palladium Books website to order the RPG. I was excited to even know that the RPG was out or even that Palladium was publishing it. I soon realized that when I was at the Robotech® panel at Anime on Display (AOD), I did remember Jonny Yune talking about the RPG. He even presented some new drawings which I went over at the end of the panel. Anyway, I ordered it on the spot, as should any Robotech® fan.

Just the other day I received the package via UPS. Upon first glancing on the manga-sized role playing game book, it was unlike its predecessors. This was the first book since the original Robotech® RPG that used the real logo. Each of next RPGs used generic logos.

While flipping through the pages and reading a lot of the material inside, I realized that the book design was like the original books. Being a graphic designer, one might think that after some twenty years later, Palladium would have put a little more effort into the design of the RPG. The RPG uses the Times Roman typeface exclusively. Even though they used the typeface how it traditionally is used, basic graphic design standards should have been implemented. A contrasting typeface like even Helvetica could have been used to give some more visual appeal. Sure it was like that in the Invid section, but it could’ve been used more throughout the book. Additional simple graphic design elements such as dingbats or key-lined boxes to separate dice roll information could have also been used.

Another bad design in the book is the use of raster images (black and white images with shading). The image styles should have been kept constant. Throughout the book, line drawings are used. The raster images should have been redrawn as line drawings to give the book continuity. On the other hand, if redrawing the art is impossible, the book should have been printed at a much higher line screen. Based on the quality of the raster art, I assume that the book was printed in 72 line screen. At that resolution, the images appear dark. With the book also being manga-sized, the images also lost a lot of detail because of the size reduction. The book should have been printed at either 133, 150 or even 300 line screen. At these resolutions, the raster art would have retained a lot of the art and give it a smoother, almost photo, look. Through a print cost point of view, it would’ve cost almost the same if the book was printed at the higher line screen.

Other than the technical and graphic design aspects, the material stayed true to the original Robotech® RPG that came out 20 years ago and the Sentinels RPG four years later. A lot of the material was from the Invid Invasion RPG, as well as material from the Sentinels RPG. Other than the original material, a mountain of new material from the Shadow Chronicles was introduced.

In the opening of the Shadow Chronicles timeline, the major enemy is the Invid. The stage is set for the Battle at Reflex Point (at the end of the New Generation). The book opens with the background information of the Invid. New types in Invid mecha are also included: Soldier, Commander and the Overlord. The Invid Overlord is the most advanced combat mecha in the Invid arsenal. It’s the only Invid that’s transformable (three modes just like the Veritechs) and most formidable opponent.

The Haydonites are the new alien race in the Shadow Chronicles. According to the timeline, the Haydonites helped the Expeditionary Force develop new technology to help combat the Invid. But in the end, they betrayed the Expeditionary Force and are bent of destroying all humanity. The only two Haydonite mecha presented in this book are the Wraith and the Infiltrator.

The next section deals with the history United Earth Expeditioary Force as well as a timeline of main events leading up to the Shadow Chronicles storyline.

A new optional character creation method is introduced. If a player cannot make up his mind on what type of character he wants to be, just roll the percentile dice. This new method makes the decision of making character quicker. There’s also a lot more Occupational Character Classes (OCCs) that are added to the long list of OCCs in the Robotech® RPG. And since the RPG deals heavily with being a part of the military, a plethora of new Military Occupational Skills (MOSs) are also included. Also are new mecha such as the Bioroid Interceptor, the Condor and the “Silverback.” All the standard mecha are also in book such as the Alphas and the Betas. The one thing I was “erked” about back in the original Sentinels RPG is the look of the Shadow Fighter. For such an awesome fighter with all it’s additional abilities, the design is just plan gay! It’s synonymous to designing the Stealth fighter to make look like the F-4 Phantom. Remember those! The standard issue Alpha FIghter looks a lot better. Seriously! Also, the picture to indicate the Shadow Fighter is the picture of the Vindicator (Veritech/Alpha hybrid) that appeared the Sentinels RPG. At least show the right gay-looking picture of the Shadow Fighter. Kevin Long...what happened!?

The rest of the book deals with the game mechanics, the guts of the game. By reading a lot of passages of this section, it’s basically the same as in the Sentinels RPG. There are some new skills to reflect the setting as well as today’s world. At the end of the book are a list of main characters and their backgrounds that play major roles in the Shadow Chronicles.

As a final note, the layout of the book is somewhat confusing...to someone new to pen and paper RPGs. The book starts out with the Invid, the Haydonites, UEF, OCCs, Veritech Fighters, game mechanics, adventures and the main characters list. The way I would have laid it out would be the background of the Expeditionary Force (background, characters and mecha). The player would most likely be playing as a member of the UEF, so why not put all that information in the beginning? Next would be the Invid (background and mecha) and the Haydonites. After you know yourself, know your enemy. With all the background aside, the game mechanics will be next. It’s only logical to have the OCCs right after the initial character creation. And the Skills List and descriptions after that. The book does it backwards. And finally, the book should end with sample role-playing, non-player characters and adventure scenarios. All in all, aside from the lack of design effort put into the book as compared to other RPGs in the market today, the material contained within the pages are priceless. It’s a “must buy” for any Robotech® fan, whether or not you’re a gamer. Not so much as the artwork, but for the material. I hope they address these short comings in the version of the RPG. I can’t wait until I get my hands on the hard bound version of the Robotech® Shadow Chronicles RPG when it’s released soon. I pre-ordered.