Interviews: Aaron Lim of Spectres of Brocken, Artist Ben Fleuter of Aether Nexus
Featuring Spectres of Brocken, plus interviews with Aaron Lim and Ben Fleuter
This is Asa Donald with the June mecha newsletter. If you’d like to hear more from me, you can check me out on bluesky.
This is my second newsletter about mecha ttrpgs, in which I feature a different mecha ttrpg each month, interview its creators, and add bonus interviews with artists, actual play performers, and other mecha ttrpg content creators.
This newsletter is free. However, if you'd like to support me and my games, you can grab a copy of Rust Never Sleeps, my grunge solo rpg about doomed mech pilots, or sign up for the Pilot's Lounge tier for as low as $1.00 per month.
In this newsletter, you'll find:
- Community content, like... Drakonique's new podcast series Sacred Machinations, Titanomachy's Game of Mecha-Hedonics, and your favorite mech ttrpgs on Bluesky;
- A featured mech ttrpg, Spectres of Brocken, and an interview with its creator Aaron Lim; and
- An interview with artist Ben Fleuter of Aether Nexus and web comics like Sever & Pierce and Non Sum.
This month, members of the Pilot's Lounge get exclusive access to a rescue mission generator and a rules supplement for duet and multiplayer modes for Rust Never Sleeps.
Join the Conversation: On Bluesky, I asked creators: What is your favorite mech ttrpg? Check out their answers and add your own. So far, no suprises: the most popular is Lancer, followed by Beam Saber. But you'll also find some other notably great games, include Spectres of Brocken, Armour Astir, and Lost among the Starlit Wreckage. There are some great deep dives in there too, including one about fighting bug kaijus and another about magic girl mechas.
Doing this for a thing! I want to know — nay, NEED to know. What is your top mecha ttrpg? Top two is also acceptable. Optional follow-up: why?
— Asa Donald | Backwards Tabletop (@backwardsttrpg.bsky.social) 2025-05-12T10:39:03.027Z
A new mecha ttrpg podcast just dropped: Sacred Machinations, as produced by Drak. Several episodes are already out, and it features a star-studded cast. The game that they are playing is an original mecha ttrpg powered by Fabula Ultima, and it's in my personal queue for listening.
Interpoint Station has released FATHOMLESS GEARS: a mecha ttrpg in which characters use their mechs to catch monstrous fish. The game is tetris-inspired, and you use tetris logic to construct and customize your mech. The fish, too, have tetris-shaped internals, which you attack before reeling them in.
Live, Laugh, Toasterbath
TitanomachyRPG (Lex Kim Bubrow) just released A Game of Mecha-Hedonics (18+), which is an erotic mech ttrpg in which one player is the Nepholem (a flesh-based mech) and the other player is the pilot, trying to survive. The mech-pilot relationship is an intense, intimate vehicle for exploring your own relationships, and the kiss resolution mechanic is very clever. I reiterate: 18+.
Rat Bastard Games
At the tail end of 2024, Skeleton Code Machine wrote a series of posts for their MECHA WEEK series, each of which featured different well-known mech games.
Skeleton Code Machine
- MECH WEEK Vol 2: Heat in Battletech and Auctoratus
- MECH WEEK Vol 3: Combat in Lancer
- MECH WEEK Vol 4: Pilots in HOME
- MECH WEEK Vol 5: Systems in Apocalypse Frame, KILL ENGN, and Eldritch Automata
Finally, I hear that a certain designer for Backwards Tabletop released a Creator's Kit for Rust Never Sleeps. It includes a license for creating your own RNS content, a summary of the system, and advice for making your own content.
Backwards Tabletop
From the Archive: In 2019, Cannibal Halfling Gaming dropped a review and overview of Lancer at the time that it was originally crowdfunding. It's fun to look back at the origins of a behemoth in the ttrpg space, and Jason described well the game's potential in the review, highlighting how it leans into wonder and world-building and stating "Lancer will prove to be the standout product in an already booming genre, and I think Massif will have earned the praise."
Jason Brown
Spectres of Brocken Content
Content for this weeks featured TTRPG:
- 11dragonkid showcases Spectres in the video Intro to Spectres of Brocken, Toxic Mech Yaoi Generator
- A.A. Voigt reviews Spectres of Brocken in "High School Never Ends."
And one of the best pull quotes a game could ask for, from Thomas Manuel in the 9/18/22 Indie RPG Newsletter:
"I think in my first playtest of it, I created a character who looked like Dave Bautista, piloted a mech called the Master Exploder, and whose theme song was Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball. In my last playtest of it, if I remember correctly, I played a character who piloted a 'living mech' (basically a giant tree). You can get weird with this game."
Sponsored Content
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Featured Mecha TTRPG
This month's featured ttrpg is...
Spectres of Brocken by Aaron Lim
An RPG of ace pilots, broken friendships, and giant mechs. It was first published in 2023 after being Kickstarted in 2022.
Make up some young, naive, messy trainee mech pilots. Find out who you are. Find out who you are to each other. Find out what you want in the world. And then, years later, find each other on the field of battle, each in your own fearsome custom mechs. Find out who you've become. Find out what you've all done to get here. Find out what costs you would pay to get what you want in the world.
Spectres of Brocken
Spectres of Brocken is a role-playing game about making friends and then years later going to war against them in giant mechs.
Aaron Lim. Amita Sevellaraja, Alex Connolly, Harry YCH, Misael "Gio" Manning, Valis Teoh. Vee Hendro, Rae Nedjadi, Misha Bushyager.
$20.00
Characteristics
- A diceless and GMless storygame
- inspired by Dream Askew and Dream Apart
- for 2-4 players
- featuring friend-making and friend-battling
Highlights
- A messy, drama-filled and roleplay-heavy game
- Easy to play in one or two sessions
- Create your own world or setting with helpful guides
- Friendly and accessible introduction to the rules
- Lots of helpful play examples and guides
Consensus
I recommend this game! I especially recommend it for folks who like roleplay- and narrative-heavy games with dramatic twists / time skips. I also recommend it as a high-quality yet quick and low-prep mecha game.
One of the things that I most appreciate about this game is that it has a very clear idea of the type of experience that it wants players to have, and it goes out and nails that experience. But it also has so many possibilities that make it so re-playable. Aaron is a thoughtful and thorough designer, and every game he creates are designed with care and clear intention.
Next month, I'll be featuring a mecha ttrpg that funded on Kickstarter earlier this year, and I'll also have an interview with one of the best and greatest mecha content creators on YouTube... Who could they be?
An interview with Spectres of Brocken designer Aaron Lim:
This month's interview features Aaron Lim, the designer of Spectres of Brocken as well as other great games like Ithaca in the Cards, An Altogether Different River, and What Should We Have Tomorrow?
What inspirations or touchstones does Spectres of Brocken draw from?
Aaron: The core inspiration was from Break Blade, which had the core characters having gone to school together before each of them ended up on different sides and perspectives of a war. I also drew a lot from the Asemu and Zeheart arc in Gundam AGE, every time the UC Gundam boys meet face to face with people they inevitably go on to fight and kill, what I thought The Witch From Mercury would be about, my misunderstanding of what Code Geass' plot structure is actually like, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Naruto, Spider-Man 2, and the COUNTER/Weight season of Friends at the Table.
Basically, I wanted to lean on the drama of old friends being forced to fight each other, and how a mech enables and complicates that. In terms of game-mechanical touchstones, it most directly draws from Dream Askew and the belonging outside belonging framework by Avery Alder, Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands by Meguey and Vincent Baker, FATE by Fred Hicks and Rob Donoghue, Necronautilus by Adam Vass, and On Mighty Wheels by Melody Watson.
Basically, I wanted to lean on the drama of old friends being forced to fight each other, and how a mech enables and complicates that.
What is unique about Spectres of Brocken?
Aaron: "Unlike other mecha games, this one is about the characters." I'm kidding, I'm kidding. However, I do think that it's in much more limited company in not really caring that much about the mechanical aspects of piloting a mech and rather in what narrative opportunities that mechs offer. This is why Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands was such a big influence, because I really like that aspect of it and I wanted more games that focus on that rather than what weapons to install on a mech and how that affects your mobility or heat dissipation.
The other thing that's fairly uncommon is how it uses Words and phrases to create a palette that you then use directly as currency and inspiration. I drew on FATE most heavily for this, but also looked at Necronautilus which used a similar focus on Words in a really fun way.
I do think that it's in much more limited company in not really caring that much about the mechanical aspects of piloting a mech and rather in what narrative opportunities that mechs offer.
Why should people try Spectres of Brocken?
Aaron: You should try Spectres of Brocken because it's really fun to figure out why and how your characters became good friends, and then watch the tragedy unfold as all of you have to fight and kill each other. It's a great way to have your characters have a bad time.
What other games do you recommend?
Aaron: I highly recommend all the games I've cited as inspirations and touchstones, obviously.
I'd also highly recommend Beam Saber by Austin Ramsay, a Forged in the Dark game about being a mecha squad in a forever war. I played a long campaign of that and really fell in love with the game, and the Cut Loose and relationship mechanics in particular.
I'd also highly recommend Follow by Ben Robbins, which is probably one of my favourite games in how it distills so much conflict, yearning, and drama within a fellowship into such a tight game. It's an incredibly influential game for me, just in general, and I think everyone should play it.
Did you read or play this ttrpg? If so, share your own highlights in the comments, along with any recommendations for similar ttrpgs or actual plays.
Bonus Interview
This month, I've wrangled up a bonus interview with...
Artist Ben Fleuter on Drawing mechas, Monsters, and Spooky Things!
Ben Fleuter (he/him) is a ttrpg and webcomic illustrator who has worked on mecha games like Aether Nexus, art for the Beam Saber actual play Calaz-Con, and webcomics like Sever & Pierce, plus the short comic Non Sum, about a depressed robot.
I wanted to interview Ben for his range of work and a genuinely distinct and engaging style that I admire.
A stealthy mech for Calaz-Con; Sunderer for Aether Nexus; a preview from Non Sum; and Imp from Aether Nexus.
What first interested you in the mecha genre and how did you start illustrating mechs?
Ben: G1 Transformers. I caught reruns when I was five, and started designing my own characters pretty much immediately. From there my older cousins got me hooked on Armored Core, Front Mission, and Gundam / Zoid models. I think the customization of one's robots through those games and kits is what really intrigued me.
I never lost interest in the genre. Cyborgs and golems appeared in some of my webcomics, and I'd continue to doodle mechs. Eventually some mech doodles I posted online caught the attention of indie TTRPG devs, and I got hired to illustrate for Beamsaber, Calazcon, and Aether Nexus.
What have been some of the challenges and joys of illustrating mechs?
Ben: For me a lot of the joy is in overcoming the challenges. How do we make it clear that a robot isn't a suit of armor? That a mech isn't a robot? Etc. Scale, shape, volume, and function are the fun parts of mecha design for me.
Lucky for me, I usually only have to draw a mech in one pose one time. The rare time I find myself needing to draw a machine over and over (such as in my short comic Non Sum), a lot more work has to go into making sure the design can move, and knowing where it's alright to be inconsistent with detail for the sake of expediency and composition.
What have been your inspirations or models for mechs?
Ben: I played with model kits a lot as a kid - often ignoring the instructions to make my own creations. I think that's followed through into how I picture my mechs moving and existing in 3D space, even if they are 2D illustrations. There's definitely some Zoids DNA in the way I do joints and pistons.
And again there's Armored Core and Front Mission as inspiration, plus some Warhammer 40k in there. I also like to bring in Geiger-inspired biomechanical shapes when it's fitting.
What else are you working on currently?
Ben: My main personal project right now is the webcomic Sever & Pierce, which I'm collaborating on with my good friend Natasha Petrović. It's about undead who have been indentured into a paranormal research and eradication organization. While not exactly traditional mechs, the setting does feature ghost-powered robots.
Entering the Pilot's Lounge
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This month’s RNS Content.
Every month I release RNS content for folks subscribed to the Pilot’s Lounge. This month’s content is a mission generator for rescue-style missions in Rust Never Sleeps.
Can't see anything? That means you have the free subscription. Only the Pilot's Lounge tier can collect this RNS content. But you can try it out for free this month, if you'd like.
Additional RNS freebies.
These freebies may include bonus adventures, character creation prompts, rustbuckets, pilots, mission generators, and more. This month's freebie is the Duet and Multiplayer Rules Supplement for Rust Never Sleeps.
Can't see anything? That means you have the free subscription. Only the Pilot's Lounge tier can collect this RNS content. But you can try it out for free this month, if you'd like.
