daniel_ream
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- Aug 29, 2017
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So as a result of a discussion elsewhere about the history of the F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-18 and their upgrades, I got to thinking about this in an RPG context. We all know about the Christmas tree effect from D&D, where PCs end up with a staggering array of magic weapons, armor, bits and bobs over years of play. This is not that. What I'm talking about is when the PCs have some significant bit of equipment, like a vehicle, a starship, a mech or battlesuit, that gets upgraded or entirely swapped out during the campaign.
Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles do this - as part of the setting, PC Gear or Exosuit pilots will get new Gear/suits as the timeline of the war advances. Mekton does it as well (but then both Mekton and JC are drawing from Gundam's mech-of-the-week format). The Australian TV show Sea Patrol did it, replacing the somewhat outdated patrol ship in second season with a new high-tech Armidale-class. Superhero comics do it all the time with everything from high-tech jets to entire headquarters. The D6 Star Wars Tramp Freighters guide had a lot of modifications you could make to your piece of junk.,
Have you ever played/run a campaign where this happened? Or, aside from complete replacement, where the PCs had the ability to significantly modify or upgrade a large piece of campaign equipment over the course of the game? How did it go? Did the players take advantage of the option, or keep their existing thing out of familiarity or sentiment?
Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles do this - as part of the setting, PC Gear or Exosuit pilots will get new Gear/suits as the timeline of the war advances. Mekton does it as well (but then both Mekton and JC are drawing from Gundam's mech-of-the-week format). The Australian TV show Sea Patrol did it, replacing the somewhat outdated patrol ship in second season with a new high-tech Armidale-class. Superhero comics do it all the time with everything from high-tech jets to entire headquarters. The D6 Star Wars Tramp Freighters guide had a lot of modifications you could make to your piece of junk.,
Have you ever played/run a campaign where this happened? Or, aside from complete replacement, where the PCs had the ability to significantly modify or upgrade a large piece of campaign equipment over the course of the game? How did it go? Did the players take advantage of the option, or keep their existing thing out of familiarity or sentiment?