Line #39 TabletopGame/JovianChronicles


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JovianChronicles_1352.jpg]]
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3	''Jovian Chronicles'' is a tabletop RPG put out by Creator/DreamPod9. Set in the 23rd century, its primary metaplot revolves around the start up and ongoing war between the Jovian Confederation and the Central Earth Government and Administration (CEGA). It's very much a western take on the Franchise/{{Gundam}} style of mecha anime.
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5	The game is notable in that, despite being touted as an anime-style setting, the setting maintains a very firm hold on real-world physics. Fuel is expended when you fire thrusters, the only artificial gravity is gained through rotation or thrust, and so on. Also notable for its GreyAndGrayMorality - no one group in the solar system is without blood on their hands.
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7	The big players in this universe are: The [[TheFederation Jovian Confederation]], who are [[DesignatedHero arguably the good guys]] in the entirety of this mess; The Central Earth Government and Administration ([[FunWithAcronyms CEGA]], pronounced like the game company), a somewhat more despotic republic and the "villain" of the piece; and finally, [[MegaCorp The Venusian Bank]], wholesale owner of the planet Venus, its residents, and ManBehindTheMan to many of the key players in the setting.
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9	And that's not getting into the minor powers and their squabbles.
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11	Has been published for three separate rulesets: TabletopGame/{{Mekton}}, [[TabletopGame/BigEyesSmallMouth BESM d20]], and [=DP9=]'s own Silhouette rules.
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13	And, has two sister games (both of which exploit the minis game/RPG bifecta), TabletopGame/HeavyGear (smaller gears, ground-based, more distant future) and TabletopGame/GearKrieg (AlternateUniverse World War II).
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16	!!Jovian Chronicles uses the following tropes:
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18	* AttackDrone: Utilized primarily by the Venusian forces. Not particularly durable, but they tend to be very fast and always in numbers.
19	** The Lucifer class terror drone is a frightening example. Basically [[Anime/MacrossPlus X-9 Ghost]] about the size of a space shuttle designed for independent commerce raiding. Faster than all but the fastest of exos and packing immensely powerful [[{{BFG}} particle cannons]] it easily qualifies as a LightningBruiser.
20	* ArtificialGravity: Mostly maintained by thrust on shorter ranged ships. Longer ranged vessels such as the Jovian Confederation's Alexander, Forge, and Valiant class and CEGA's Poseidon have rotating habitat wheels or revolving spokes that create rotational gravity. Venusian vessels actually rotate the entire ship to simulate gravity.
21	* TheBattlestar: The Jovian Godsfire class super carrier and the CEGA Poseidon class Battleship. Somewhat justified that both were originally designed as battleships, but had exo and fighter bays added later on. The Valiant carrier qualifies due to its WaveMotionGun described below.
22	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The CEGA Dragon Striker prototype packs a whallop with vulcans, armor crushing claws, and heck, even a few nukes. The Full Armored pack adds a [[{{BFG}} capital ship strength beam cluster]] to its crotch. The mass production variant moved the beam cannons to another location.
23	* {{Expy}}: This game has numerous ones for Franchise/{{Gundam}}. These include CEGA ace Ranho Garand and the Wyvern which are Expys for [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Char Anzable]] and the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Zaku]] respectively. The Jovian Stormrider and its prototype predecessor are reworked [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Dendrobium Gundams]].
24	* TheFederation: The Jovian Confederation comes closest, although it is definitely in the grey area of the spectrum.
25	* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: The Edicts, a Solar-System-wide treaty, restrict most attempts to produce artificial intelligence, genetically engineered organisms, nanotechnology or antimatter.
26	* LaserBlade: Magnetically contained plasma blade, actually. For however long the fuel cell in the handle lasts. The fiction is unclear about the actual length of "blade" though.
27	* MacrossMissileMassacre: Averted for the most part. Exceptions include the Jovian Vindcator, Stormrider, and smaller Retaliator. The latter is fully capable of launching its entire payload of 10 seeking missiles at a single target in one volley. Also notable is the Venusian Kaminari which is armed with multiple missile pods and a [[MoreDakka belt-fed]] [[{{BFG}} bazooka]].
28	* ManBehindTheMan: The Venusian Bank is this to a lot of people.
29	* MegaCorp: The Venusian Bank.
30	* ThePlan: The Venusian Bank. Success levels vary.
31	* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Averted in the mecha available to the players, but invoked and played horribly straight in the fluff text on Jovian Armor Works' Skunk Works division.
32	* PowerArmor: Exo-Suits. They are utilized in a variety of roles, from exploration, mining, construction, maintenance, and, of course, combat. The Mars Republic Sand Stalkers best fit the vision of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''.
33	* PresidentEvil: [[spoiler: President Alexandra Itangre of the Jovian Confederation, who enjoys power more than anything.]]
34	* RealRobot: Exo-Armors and their smaller Exo-Suit cousins (and, in earlier editions, their Exo-Ship big brothers.)
35	* ShoutOut: [[WesternAnimation/ExoSquad Exo-Armor.]]
36	* SpaceColdWar: Instead of engaging in large-scale conflict, CEGA and the JC are supporting opposing factions in a proxy war on Mars.
37	* SpaceElevator: Earth has a variant called a Skyhook to transport from the surface to the Orbitals. A proper one was built by the Martian Federation on Mars. [[spoiler: It was destroyed in a ColonyDrop. This event predates the one from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'', being instead the climax of ''Literature/RedMars'' with the SerialNumbersFiledOff.]]
38	* {{Space Station}}s: The Jovian colony cylinders, big O'Neil-island type habitats, which house the majority of the Jovian population. They are the biggest artificial objects (by volume) in the solar system.
39	* SuperPrototype: The Prometheus and Dragon Striker Prototype. Later the Prometheus Tetra and Typhon.
40	* WaveMotionGun: The spinal laser on the Valiant Class Carriers which can one shot the heaviest space craft.

Context TabletopGame / JovianChronicles