A H A C K O F L A Z E R S A N D

F E E L I N G S

YEAR 3000
WAR IN THE

R O W E L L
A U D E N G A M E B Y B E N A
In the future, war has evolved beyond all reckoning. It’s now fought
in the Blitz Zones, vast tracks of land set aside for the purpose of
conflict. Soldiers load themselves into Military-Entertainment Combat
Hardware, or M.E.C.H.s, all for the viewing pleasure of the millions
who watch their exploits broadcast out to the wider world.

Neither the soldiers nor the watchers understand the stakes for which
they play. And yet they fight, and act, and love and die on these
battlefields.

The Stats
In Military-Entertainment only two stats matter: your ability to
Doubt and your ability to be Cool.

When you Doubt you look beyond your circumstances and the rules
of the world in which you have been raised. It means recognizing the
apparatus of war which you now serve. You philosophize, reach out,
question, and calculate. Doubting means fighting against the
narrative imposed by the cameras. It means speaking honestly,
outside of your M.E.C.H.—outside of the apparatus of war.

When you are Cool you lean into the narrative imposed by the
cameras and take advantage of it. You scheme, act, make out, make
drama, and make big moves. Being Cool means understanding the
rules of this paradigm, this endless war, and exploiting the hell out of
them. And sometimes, just sometimes, it means doing flashy things
in your really, really cool robot.

Life and death in the Blitz Zones depends on knowing when to be

cool, and when to keep on doubting.

1
 Create your character
1. Choose a style for your character. Are they Worldly, Hot, Plucky,
Sharp, Flashy, Dreamy, Stoic, Tired, Dangerous or Bookish?

2. Choose a military role for your character: Are they a Commander,

Recruit, Aerialist, Sniper, Defender, Medic, Mechanic, Infiltrator,
Specialist, or Scout?

3. Choose a role they play for the camera. Are they a Villain, Hero,
Comic, Lover, Peacemaker, Wildcard, Mystery, Dark Horse,
Sidekick, or Mentor?

4. Give them a number between 2 and 5. A low number means they

are good at Doubt A high number means they are good at Cool.

5. Give them a goal. Do they want to get famous, to make it home,

to fall in love, to get revenge, to shoot bad guys, to prove
themselves, figure out who pulls the strings, or to break the Blitz
once and for all?

6. Give them a soldier’s name.

Your possessions: a worn uniform, a cool M.E.C.H., a set of rations, a

side arm, and one item to remind you of home.

2
 Create your M.E.C.H.
1. Choose a style for your character’s M.E.C.H. Are they Animalistic,
Neon, Stealthy, Shinning, Experimental, Streamlined, Ironclad,
Antique, Fearsome, or Modded?

2. Choose 2 strengths for your character’s M.E.C.H. Do they have

Speed Boosts, Special Sensor, Onboard Databases, Extra Armor,
Maneuvering Aids, Cloaking Devices, A Sword, Sleeping Quarters,
Expanded Cargo Space, Biometric Steering, Remote Control
Capabilities, Mysterious Weapons, Drone Scouts, or Flight Mode?

3. Choose 1 weakness for your mech to have. Are they Fuel Hungry,
Cobbled-Together, Lightly Armored, Missing Parts, Unreliable,
Radioactive, Prone to Explosion, Marked by a Bad Reputation,
Calibrated to a Different Pilot, Stolen from the Enemy, Too Flashy,
Slow, or Using Outdated Controls?

4. Give this M.E.C.H. a cool name.

3
Playing the Game
Choose a player to start play. If someone has played this game
before, or teaching this game, let them start. If not, the player who
most recently watched reality tv starts. They choose one of the
prompt tables, roll a question, and answer it.

Create events and settings collaboratively by asking your fellow

players questions and having conversations about the answers.
Embody your characters, and step into play with additional
supporting characters when needed. When you do something risky
such as reach out to another person or make a move with your
M.E.C.H., roll to find out what happens.

Cut back and forth between framing what the camera sees, what is
broadcast, and real life on the ground. Think about the tension
between the cinematic and actual. Feel free to hide things from the
camera and have your characters deliberately act larger than life.
You may change the narrative imposed by the cameras even as you
try to lean into it. You can alternatively endear yourself to the
audience even as you roll with doubt.

Whenever you find need for direction, roll from a prompt table of
your choosing.

4
Rolling the Dice
To roll an action, declare whether you are rolling with Doubt or Cool
and state why.

You start with 1d6. Ask your fellow players about the following, and
add an additional 1d6 for each of the following if:
There is a way this action supports the reality show narrative.
There is a way this action undermines the reality show
narrative.
Someone helps you.

If you are rolling with Cool, you need to roll a number less than your
character’s number. If you are rolling with Doubt, you need to roll a
number greater than your character’s number.

If None of your dice succeeded, you fail in some fundamental

way. Ask your fellow players 2 questions off the failure list.

If 1 of your dice succeeded, you partially manage it. Ask your

fellow players 1 question off the failure list and 1 question off
the success list.

If 2 of your dice succeeded, you manage to do it. Ask your

fellow players 2 questions off the success list.

If 3 of your dice succeeded, you have all the power. Ask your
fellow players 3 questions off whichever table you wish.

5
Question Lists
When you Fail ask these:
- What did the camera see coming that you didn’t?
- What complication or collateral did your actions cause?
- How did your actions escalate the situation?
- In what ways did you look foolish or clumsy?
- How did your past actions hold you back you now?
- In what ways did you leave your self vulnerable?
- How did you lose control of the narrative?
- What did it cost that you didn’t expect it to?

When you Succeed ask these:

- What did you see coming that the cameras didn’t?
- Who did you get the upper hand with?
- How did they underestimate you?
- In what ways did you look awesome, competent, or flashy?
- How did this reinforce your narrative with the viewers?
- What new information or tool was revealed to you?
- How did you take control of the narrative?
- Who was there to help you when you needed it?
- What effect did your action have on those who watched it?

6
Prompt Tables

On the Battle Field

1 – What do you need to steal from your enemy?
2 – Which ally has turned on you?
3 – Whose trap have you sprung?
4 – Where are you lying in wait for an ambush?
5 – What hotly contested territory have you entered?
6 – What strange enemy are you trying to pin down?

At Camp
1 – What victory are you celebrating?
2 – How are you healing wounds after your last loss?
3 – What fight is brewing among you?
4 – How are you going to test the new tech you have been
developing?
5 – What news has a new arrival brought?
6 – What do you do to unwind in the quiet moments?

About the Blitz

1 – What mystery has revealed been revealed in battle?
2 – Which leader is unexpectedly coming to visit your territory?
3 – How has a fan influenced your contingent?
4 – What order have you been given that you can’t follow?
5 – Who is sewing rebellion among the soldiers?
6 – Which bit of The Blitz Zone has broken?

7
8
Finishing the Game
The war in the Blitz Zones never ends. It merely reincarnates itself,
but when you feel your character’s narrative has come to its end, or
when you need to end the game, ask these questions:

- Who among us gets to leave the Blitz? What is waiting for them
on their return?
- Who among us stays and fights on longer? What do they fight
for now? What do they achieve?
- In what ways have we each come to question the world we live
in?
- In what ways have we each embraced our reality and leaned
in?

Finally thank you fellow players for doubting with you and for being
really, really cool.