Heavy Gear

Supplements

Review by David Crowhurst


Heavy Gear is the Role-playing/Tactical system produced by Dream Pod 9, where battles between I man mecha fighting machines can be played out on the planet Terra Nova. The Reavy Gear product range includes a variety of sourcebooks and supplements, some pushing the Role-play side of the game (Badlands & Terra Nova sourcebooks), and others which expand upon the Tactical side of the game. The Northern & Southern vehicles supplements are definitely pitched towards the Tactical gamers.

The Northern & Southern Field Guides follow the usual Heavy Gear vehicle format; new weapons and equipment to fit to your Gears, a list of new Gears for each of the side, and finally some assorted tanks and vehicles to give a little variety to your games. Each book has 8 Gears, 2 Striders, Tanks, 2 planes and 2 APC's, most are totally new designs, with the others being variants on existing gears with just minor changes to weaponry or equipment. This 'tweaking' with designs has its basis in modern combat vehicle design, where a basic chassis is used to create vehicles which perform specific tasks.

What you get in the Field Guides is a set of 'ready to pray' Gears and vehicles, and that is what most Heavy Gear players are looking for.

They tie in with the official DP9/RAFM miniatures line, they are all fully detailed designs and they keep both sides pretty evenly matched in terms of game balance. The North gets the Bobcat, Kodiak., Razorback.,Tattletale and Tiger as new Gears; whilst the South gets the all new Anolis, Black Adder, Chatterbox and Python.

Both of these supplements are well laid out and appear to be errata free, the cardboard counters are excellent, the designs are clear and the artwork is good.

New weapons for the North include light versions of the autocannon and rifle, and a really lethal looking Heavy Pulse Laser Cannon. If you are playing the Southern forces then be sure to stock up the Panzerfausts when taking on an opponent with heavy armour, those familiar with German WWII weaponry will know that the Panzerfaust (or "armoured fist') is a one-shot anti armour weapon designed to destroy or immobilise those pesky tanks that have your forces pinned down. The Panzerfaust stands out as the most interesting bit of kit in either of these supplements, though the Gatling Laser Cannon in the Northern Field Guide will take down most enemy gears at close range.

New Perks include Chaff Dispensers, Ablative Armour & a better explained version of the Vehicle Bay perk. Also included in each of the field guides has a list of standardised vehicle codes.

One thing about the vehicle designs has got me puzzled. During the 'war of Alliance' the Earth forces employed grav tanks again the combined forces of the North & South, but all the vehicles listed in these supplements use conventional tracks or wheels for mobility. I would have thought that both side would have used captured Terran vehicles to help in there own weapons R&D, therefore they should have developed there own grav tanks by now.

Heavy Gear styles itself as both a Roleplaying game and a Tactical game, these two products will not add anything to your Reavy Gear Role-playing game but will appeal to Tactical gamers. The Gears provided in the books are all fully detailed and ready to go, so you can just pick up and play them in your next game. Role-players will find little of interest in these two supplements, the vehicle design system in the Rulebook is so good that most keen players have already redesigned there favourite Gear and fully decked it out with stereo system and air conditioning. The most refreshing part of the HG vehicle design system is the 'Perks & Flaws', sadly the few provided in these 2 supplements are rather bland and uninteresting. So who will buy this product?

Overall: If you want a book full of Gear variants, then buy the supplements, but if you are looking to add greatly to your Heavy Gear RPG, then avoid these supplements.

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