Prepare for MEKTONFALL
One GM. One Player. Mekton in the Titanfall Universe
Session Zero: Titanfall, Refracted
In this campaign, we're playing Mekton RPG in the fringes of Militia-held space—where planetary governments, pirate-kings, and corporate interests constantly shift control. The Militia-IMC war rages far away, but its shockwaves are felt everywhere. Colonies are held together by duct tape, rumor, and orbital bribes. Titans—massive mechs once meant for war—are now tools for freight, smuggling, salvage... or assassination.
Here, Titan pilots are local legends, trusted (or hated) by small communities and seen as walking gods of death by their enemies.
What is Mekton?
Mekton is a classic tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) of giant mecha action, created by R. Talsorian Games (the makers of Cyberpunk 2020). Built around the Mekton Zeta ruleset, it lets players:
Design and customize pilots and mechs (Titans) in intricate detail
Play in genres ranging from gritty real robot anime (Gundam, Votoms) to wild super robot shows (Gurren Lagann)
Use the flexible Lifepath system to build rich backstories, including family, enemies, lovers, and major life events
Engage in tactical mech combat with modular weapons, armor, systems, and custom designs
It runs on a d10 + stat + skill system and leans toward simulationist, crunchy combat—but allows fast-paced, cinematic play with some GM-lifting.
What is Titanfall?
Titanfall is a first-person shooter video game series by Respawn Entertainment, set in a sci-fi warzone of orbital colonies, mega-corporations, and insurgent militias.
Key features:
Pilots: Elite soldiers with parkour, jetpacks (Jump Kits), and Dataknives used to hack enemy tech
Titans: Giant war mechs dropped from orbit, each with unique loadouts (weapons, shields, AI modes)
The world is split between:
The IMC (Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation): A hyper-capitalist mega-conglomerate harvesting colony resources
The Militia: A decentralized rebellion made of frontier settlers, pirates, and ex-military
Titanfall 2 introduced a single-player story featuring Jack Cooper, a Militia rifleman who bonds with a Titan named BT-7274, and together they uncover a plot involving time manipulation and dimension-bending tech.
Why They Fit Together
Both center around Pilots with larger-than-life abilities and Titans—giant, modular mechs.
Mekton lets you design your own Titan, replicate Titanfall’s unique loadouts, and explore a campaign beyond the game’s warzones.
Titanfall’s rich setting—corporate warfare, broken alliances, espionage, and lost tech—is fertile ground for classic Mekton drama, lifepath ties, and one-on-one gaming.
Together, they combine to form a perfect engine for stories about power, freedom, legacy, and trust between machine and human!!
ROLL OUT!!
CHARACTER CREATION: Two Threads Intertwined
We sat down to create characters together. It’s been many lifepaths ago for me, and I wanted to know what all went into a PC. I do this for most games before I run them.
Maxwell is playing the PC—a logistics pilot of a Titan for cargo and colony work. This is his character concept for the game.
I, the GM, built the NPC he'd need to rescue—a fellow pilot gone missing under suspicious circumstances. This is the rough premise we agreed on.
Mekton starts with the Lifepath System, which builds your life up to age 16: your family, status, relationships, enemies, and more. There are no direct mechanical effects here (aside from wealth). Young Jay would skip this part; no use for this "fluff." Old, cranky Jay? This is the campaign!!
Maxwell’s Character:
Middle-class family, parents alive and well.
One sister—they do not get along.
One childhood friend.
Values: Your Word.
Max rolled a few things, but mostly chose safe, grounded answers—a practical pilot with roots.
The Missing Pilot (NPC): Jupiter Ames
Anti-social, violent, angry.
Spy parents in good standing and health.
Younger sister hates her.
Two male friends—one mentor, one older brother figure.
No enemies, no romance. Just fury and isolation.
I rolled 90% of everything!!
Some Stat and skill point allocations happen at this step—traditional RPG kinda stuff.
PROFESSIONS + EVENTS
Each Profession adds two years and a life event, a dangerous event if the profession was dangerous.
Maxwell chooses Non-Combat Pilot—twice.
He’s doubling down on that Cargo Titan life. He rolls two events.
Gets a Windfall (a clue to a vital secret?!)
And… an enemy from the other side who wants her dead—and she doesn’t know why.
I rolled all my NPC events, all DANGEROUS.
Framed for an accident
Got Blacklisted (due to that frame job).
And someone owes her a favor—maybe the only reason she’s still alive.
Gear Time: Dataknife & Jump Kit
Maxwell wants some iconic Titanfall gear, so we brought over:
Dataknife: A neural spike blade used to breach enemy AI, drones, electronics, or Titans. It’s fast, ruthless, and connects directly to target systems.
Jump Kit: Personal mobility booster with double-jump and wall-run capabilities.
We statted both out using the CRB’s equipment guidelines—balanced and easy. We’ll revisit the jump kit when building the Titan to see if we can create something COOLER!
THE HOOK: Rescue First, Questions Later
With these Lifepaths and event rolls, the series practically writes itself.
A framed, violent pilot, hiding out in the shadows.
A cargo pilot with clean hands, a secret, and a target on her back.
An enemy watching from the dark.
A favor waiting to be cashed in.
First step: Rescue Recruit the missing pilot.
Then? Uncover the truth. Maybe survive it.