Homebrew
en
English
Gundam Missions
Gundam Missions is a cooperative tactical tabletop RPG for up to 5 players plus a Game Master (GM). It combines elements of tabletop RPGs, miniature wargames and tactical board games, with the focus placed on teamwork, objective-based missions and Mobile Suit combat rather than simply destroying every enemy on the battlefield.
Each player takes the role of a pilot and controls their own Mobile Suit throughout the campaign. The GM runs the enemy forces, mission events, objectives and the wider campaign narrative. As the campaign progresses, players earn rewards, develop their pilots, customise their mission loadouts and gain access to new equipment and tactical options. Missions include scenarios such as Destroy, Escort, Sabotage, Capture and Rescue, alongside larger boss-style encounters. These are connected by light storytelling and an ongoing campaign narrative, eventually building towards a final confrontation with the campaign's recurring enemy commander — essentially the campaign's "Big Bad."
The game is intentionally more of a tactical RPG than a traditional roleplay-heavy RPG. You won't need to spend hours acting in character or memorising Gundam lore. Most of your time will be spent making battlefield decisions with the rest of the party: choosing routes, managing resources, protecting allies, completing objectives and deciding when to fight, advance or fall back.
Missions take place on a 48" × 72" battlefield using 2D terrain, objective markers and game tokens. Movement and weapon ranges are measured in inches, while combat uses dice rolls for attacks, defence and other effects. Mobile Suits have different movement, weapons, armour, equipment and battlefield roles, giving each player their own strengths while encouraging the group to work together as a proper squad.
A major part of Gundam Missions is the use of physical 1/144 scale Gunpla models. Each player needs a 1/144 Mobile Suit model to represent their unit on the battlefield. You do not need to already own a Gunpla to play, as a suitable model can be provided. However, building and bringing your own kit is highly encouraged. Choosing, assembling and customising your own Mobile Suit is part of the RPG experience, and the idea is that you gradually develop a connection with the machine you take through the campaign. All other game materials — battlefield, terrain, tokens, objective pieces and supporting components — are provided.
You also do not need to be a Gundam expert. Gundam fans will obviously recognise plenty of the machines and references, but previous knowledge of the anime or wider Universal Century timelines isn't required. If you enjoy tabletop RPGs, miniature wargames, tactical board games, Gunpla, or cooperative games and fancy trying something different, you should be able to pick the system up fairly quickly. The rules are designed to be approachable for new players while still offering enough tactical depth for experienced tabletop players.
Individual missions are expected to last approximately 1–2 hours, with the first campaign currently planned to begin this autumn and sessions expected to run roughly every other week.
Gundam Missions is a free-to-play, independent, fan-developed project and is still actively being playtested and refined. Rules, balance, missions and other systems may therefore change as development continues. While the project is in a playable state, players joining the first campaign won't just be playing the game — their feedback and experiences will also help shape and improve it as the project develops.
If this idea excites you, you live locally and you're interested in joining the group, feel free to reach out!