A downloadable game

GRIMM & SONS - WORKING FOR THE PROMISED LAND

Once upon a time, Union came across its distant cousins on their own Lonely Cradle at the edge of Orion's Belt, a mountainous little world with cold and thin air tamed by massive industrial complexes. Those who lived there called themselves the Clanners, and organized themselves into great familial-labor guilds under the leadership of their Fatherclan, the Grimm. Old Master Grimm was happy to make a deal with the men from the stars- and "incorporated" the Clans into the corpro-state of Grimm & Sons. With the labor pools of an entire culture like the Clanners, the Second Committee was happy to let G&S on contracts to build Blink Gates and tame worlds.

 It was in pursuit of these hyperstructure and colonial contracts that G&S entered the field of mechanized frame design with the John Henry- a surprise smash hit of an industrial mech meant for working where human decision making required incredible strength to back it up. From the success of the John Henry, G&S pushed itself into military mech design as a means of protecting their colonial ventures and supporting various partisan groups the Clanners see as worth arming. After hundreds of years in the business, G&S is well recognized as one of the most prolific colonial engineering companies, though their general mission scope keep them far from the status of the Big Four.

The culture of G&S is that of Lonely Cradle, a republic of toil where the Clan is the center of a person’s life. Quickly achieving Core status and constructing most of their own Blink Gate with the help of the early second Committee, the G&S corpro-state dedicates itself to the motto “Working for the Promised Land.” The actions of the Clanners are done for the benefit of all mankind, to build paradise on earth through virtuous labor. Their goals are grand and their means are simple- every planet terraformed, every wilderness tamed, every colony built is another chance for the Fall to never happen again. The Third Committee enjoy having G&S as a solid (if small) voting block supporting the center, and allow the clanners to do mostly as they please, bidding for and claiming frontier worlds to tame as the first step of mass colonial projects.

In terms of what they can offer to pilots, Grimm & Sons mechs have their root in the industrial work of their company: mechs built to tame the far frontier of space and all the accompanying dangers therein. Hyperfauna, space pirates, natural disasters, tinpot tyrants, slavers, and all the rest G&S offer the business end of a mech. The Promised Land will be built. Pilot, will you take up your tools and do your part?

10 feature complete mech frames for LANCER: The Mech RPG

  • John Henry-
    • A hammer-swinging mech who'll see the battle won, even if its mechanical heart melts!
  • Volk-
    • A big bad wolf who chews through weaker targets and cuts larger foes down to size!
  • Bunyan-
    • A giant of a defender, who with his titanic size and BABE drone will create tales to be astounded by!
  • Jack-
    • A scout-and-skirmish mech with a habit of giantslaying, who keeps in the fight with finicky plasma weapons.
  • Dorothy-
    • A search-and-rescue mech who uses its nanite-driven weapon systems to heal its allies
  • Orlando-
    • A shining knight who leads the charge with its hyper-charged engine and glorious lance
  • Noel
    • With a battle rifle and an army of drones, this old medic'll keep you standing, even if your reactor stops pumping.
  • Anansi
    • A sniper  who manages spiderwebs to control the battlefield. Any enemy who bumbles into the webs is likely to lose its head.
  • Max
    • A dirge for the Fall of mankind, made flesh in steel and fire. Max shouldn't exist in this more peaceful age, but it will save you. When all the world goes mad.
  • Scheherazade
    • A mysterious technological hacker who controls the threads of destiny and the flow of battle, built from the secrets of Grimm's Vaults.

Design- Delilah

Art- T

StatusReleased
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(21 total ratings)
AuthorsDelilah Worthy, MoidDoesArt
GenreRole Playing
TagsMechs

Download

Download
Grimm & Sons [New Version].pdf 5 MB
Download
grimm__sons_v2_1.0.3.lcp 34 kB

Install instructions

The LCP is for use with Lancer's companion app COMP/CON

Development log

Comments

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Morgiana Revolvers don't show up on the weapon menu in Comp/Con for me. Please fix.

So I was curious, what happened to all the Core Bonuses? I really liked Lilliputian Modifications and I was like, oh it's not there anymore. Thought I would ask.

Extremely late but core bonuses are currently being worked on. We have a number of them cooking up that we've kinda constructed but we still need to tweak their numbers.

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Where is my baby magarac :(

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The mech was too big to fit in, so its being reworked into a Mobile Operating Base

So, The LCP name has caused some problems. it doesn't properly replace the old one

had the same issue

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Is it just me or is the Seherezade AUX bugged in COMP/CON, it seems to be listed in the compendium but when you adquiere its required license it doesn’t allow you to equip it to any mech?

I'm having this issue as well. 

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I was curious with the Anti-Hyperfauna Rifle.  As stated by someone else, its just a worse AMR as it stands.  I saw in the LCP its tagged as Loading 6 though.   Am I to assume it has a 6 Round magazine before Loading?  That would change the weapon completely and make it rather viable, so I'd like to think this was the intent. 

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I posted this to the redit thread as well

I dont have a lot of play experience on lancer and have not played with any G&S, so take this with a grain of salt.  This is purely based on my first read through and my own game sense. 

John Henry

Henry has an integrated heavy weapon and a heavy mount, meaning it can barrage with two heavy weapons, which is huge damage potential compared to core mechs. Just want to make sure you have thought of this.

While its base heatcap is okay, its core power making its integrated weapon do 4 heat may be a bit much.  As is, before engineering, you could only swing the core powered hammer once before either stress or stabalizeing, (or nuke calv II fuel rod gun).  heat 3 would allow for 2 swings (though you would be sitting risky after the second)

Volk

I am hesitant at something with 10 hp and 1 armor also having a base speed of 6, all core mechs with speed 6 have 6hp and 0 armor. I would drop its speed to 5

Fluff: you describe the Volk as a line mech, which typically has me think like “fireing line” while the volk licence has no ranged weapons, and the volk itself is melee beast. This could just be a me thing.

Boarkiller: you can only use a charge if hit by melee, but you lose the charge for any damage taken, which makes it super easy for an npc to just potshot you and make you waste the charge (and therefor waste your quick action). I would make you only lose the charge on melee damage (or even only on use).

Ark hypersaw: seems too good, it has tac melee damage (1d6+2) and a crit effect to prone and maybe shred. I would either drop its damage (I suggest 1d3+3) or add a heat cost. Alternately make it an Aux melee instead of main and give it 1d3 damage, you have a flex mount, and a main aux, but no aux in the license.  Making it aux would also reduce the overlap with Blackbeard's chain axe

FYI, I really like the shotspear, it's a neat weapon.

Bunyon

I would likely add a trait that lets it ignore difficult and dangerous terrain while moving. Seems thematic for the slow beefy giant of a mech, particularly with things in its license creating terrain.

Babe: I would likely specify it uses your reaction instead of saying it uses Babes reaction, if it uses babes reaction and it would be basically free (alternately give it a per round limit)

Entrenching tool: I would make it optional to upgrade difficult terrain to dangerous instead of mandatory, increase the versatility.

Jack

Scathach

3 sp and 4 self heat for a conditional off turn boost seems a bit much. I would reduce the self heat or add some additional effect (such as oversheild, or a free ram)

Dorthy

Ardent Charges: The grenade option feels clunky. hit an enemy so an ally hitting the same enemy can get oversheild (note you are not your own ally). I know you kind of themed dorthy around overhsheilding, but maybe try a different effect for the grenades here. As a random idea, any time a (different) debuff is removed from the enemy (such as burn or lock on), roll a d6, on a 4+ the debuff remains.

Anansi

Core power: pretty neat, but I would also make the watch your head per round limit apply independently to each spider web, so the multiple webs could trigger multiple head downs. I may just be underestimating the power of up to 100 squares worth of move ending terrain.

Octo Ghilie: this is mostly redundant with the “dont throw me in the briar patch” trait.

Gumdoll class holocaster: This is stupidly strong, with even slightly decent position you are ignoring one attack every round. It is more than strong enough to justify having limited uses, or requiring an action to pre-charge, or require a contested system check, or force you to brace (and thus have reduced actions next turn), or some other limiting factor.

Anti-Hyperfauna rifle: loading and ordinance combine to make the AMR considered one of the worst weapons in the game, and I dont think the AHR is going to fair any better, even with +2 damage. It loses accurate and AP becomes conditional (or lost entirely if you use leopard, which would typically be the better choice) and gains a system point cost. The free reload on crit form might make it okay at higher licence levels were crits become more common, but for the most part not worth it. At the very least it should be able to switch modes as a protocol, not only during a repair. The loading tag also doesnt synergize well with the core power, though at least the core power causes an attack instead of an overwatch (ordnance weapons cannot overwatch).

I was at least a little disapointed that the artillery mech only had one weapon in its license (and it was a bit of a dud at that). Maybe try swapping in another weapon in the earlier license levels.

Orlando

Beam saber: with the inaccurate tag, you can afford to give it a bit more damage, 1d6+1 averages 4.5 damage, where the charged blade (1d3+3) averages 5. Even with AP and the choice of damage types, 1d6+2 would be an acceptable damage and you could argue for +3.

Max

while the repair cap is terifyingly small, and sensors and tech are shit, having speed 6, heat 8, and hp 8 armor 1 a lot of physical stats.

Shot Saber: this is cool, but I dont think having one less threat justifies the extra damage compared to the gms shotgun while still having the exceed for a whole extra attack. I would bring the damage to just 1d6.

wild child, I would let them slide 1 or 2 toward the attacker before the ram.

SCHEHERAZADE

Morgana revolver This is brokenly good and needs to be brought down heavily. Compare it to hand cannon (from core book) if you fully unload it, you are doing 7 damage at range 8 vs hand cannons 1d6 damage at range (3.5 average) at range 5. Yes you are losing the extended threat and 1 reliable, but that is double the damage, and knockback! You are doing heavy mount damage on an aux mount for the cost of loading.

Sandstorm mine: needs an e-defence.

Twist logics mine: asking players to remember exactly what they did last turn is a big ask. Asking the GM to remember what each NPC did is an even bigger ask. Due to these logistics, this needs to be reworked.

Dinazade: the effect is very powerful, but its already limited to 1/scene, I am not sure it needs limited charges as well.

(+1)(-1)

Personally, I can't identify balanced design or overpoweredness at all so I can't judge for myself,  but I always allow G&S in my games because I LOVE the designs and lore and everything about the Grimm & Sons flavour.

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Noticed a goofy little interaction with the scheherazade and the new demolotionist talent from solstice rain.  They both give back charges for undetonated mines at the end of combat so you get duplicate mines. Kinda fitting in a weird way with all the mirror shennanigans.

Its really not intentional and your GM shouldn't let you do that because its silly. Don't do that.

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The new Orlando is less of a living artillery shell, which is neat, but it's also kind of a shame to lose such a unique play style. Are there any plans to make something similar to old Orlando again?

Hi! No not really, I really prefer what I've made for the new version.

(+1)

Hey, looking over the new G&S update and noticed some discrepancies between the PDF and LCP (so far I only noticed the PDF having Knockback 1 on Morgiana Revolvers, which isn't present in the LCP). Which one is the more correct version?

Nooooo Magarac my favorite walking factory , hope you'll be satisfied with a modified version 'cause i saw the new art and it's perfect

Dorothy is underwhelming, its Loading tag is not worth the overshield and low damage and its overhaul traits are just useless, it is so fucking cute and I'm sad i can't manage to make a worthwhile build for the lil baby.. please buff qwq

(+2)

She just got a complete rewrite/rework into a much better mech, please, have some fun with the girl~!

(+1)

any plans to update compcon?

(+1)

it wont allow me to download the current version

I don't know why it wouldn't? Everything seems fine on my end but maybe try again? It could just be an itch.io issue?

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Hey, I'd like to start off by saying that me and my party absolutely love this homebrew! G&S frames are a really unique bunch, and one of our members absolutely loves running into things with no regard for his own wellbeing in his Orlando frame. It's been a blast to play with.

That said, I have one critique; I feel that Ascalon Engines (from Orlando 2) could use a bit of balance tuning. It's such an outstandingly good system that other players have started picking it up, and it makes some other frames and builds slightly overpowered. In particular, when paired with a build that relies on heat generation (such as the Tokugawa frame or Nuclear Cavalier talent), getting into the danger zone becomes extremely easy, and can usually be done on the player's first turn, before they even spend any actions. As written, assuming you can only use it once for standard move and once for boost on your turn, characters with it equipped can generate up to 12 heat at will, as long as they use boost.

The rules of Lancer say that free actions can be used any number of times on a player's turn, so the lack of limitations on Ascalon's usage are what I assume to be the biggest issue with it's implementation. My suggestion would be to introduce a usage limit (i.e. 1/turn or 1/round), to prevent misuse, and perhaps to lower the amount of heat it generates.

(+3)

That's an extremely fine point, thank you, I hadn't even thought of that sort of combo! I will definitely use 1/round as a quick patch, but I think I might need to rethink the system overall; to make the speed-boost a lot less "free" than it currently is!