In the year UC 0093, the Earth was almost irrepairably destroyed, when the Axis Asteroid base was dropped into Earth Orbit by the Newborn Neo Zeon movement, led by Char Aznable, a brilliant military commander and son of Zeon founder Zeon Zum Deikun.
During this Second Neo Zeon War, the Axis Asteroid base entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and due to the gravitational pull of the planet, the descent and inevitable destruction of the environment of Earth could not be stopped. And yet it was. The Earth Federation’s Londo Bell Forces defeated the Newborn Neo Zeon movement, and by utilizing the still-unknown power of a psycho-frame enhanced Mobile Suit, Earth Federation ace Amuro Ray was able to create a miracle, with the help of both Federation and Reborn Neo Zeon forces, stopping the Axis asteroid and moving it out of Earth’s gravity.
The sight of the miracle ended the Second Neo Zeon War, and cost the lives of many soldiers, including the aces Char Aznable and Amuro Ray. And for a time, a tense peace fell over the Earth Sphere. While remnants of enemy forces still exist in the fringes of space colonies, in the jungles of Earth, and even on the fledgling colonies of other planets. It is in this distant place, beyond the influence of the Federation, that new threats loom, and once again threaten the very future of mankind.
Those forced into conflict will be forced to find an answer: Can mankind learn from the miracle they witnessed?
Gundam 0094 is meant to act as a bridge story during the blank timeframe of UC 0094-0096, where Gundam Unicorn finishes up the Universal Century timeline. Instead of focusing on Earth-side problems (reconstruction and the sudden power vacuum from the loss of both Char as a leader and Amuro as the Federation’s best Newtype Ace), the story looks further out into space. If you’re a fan of Zeta Gundam, parts of Double Zeta Gundam, F91, and Crossbone, you may very well be a fan of this story.
The story begins with the aftermath of a conflict between the Asteroid Belt Based Ares pirates, and Federation/Civilian transport ships heading to the Mars Colony. The Ares pirates are a group of pirates and mercenaries who operate based out of the Ares Asteroid, a former mining asteroid brought into Mars Orbit. These pirates are former Titan, Neo Zeon, and other mercenaries (perhaps even some from Jupiter). Their mobile suits fit a mercenary/pirate organization, ranging from relics from the One Year War, the Gryps War, First Neo Zeon War, and Second Neo Zeon War.
The third-party in this conflict is where the player characters are introduced. The PCs can have a background from any faction (as long as joining makes sense), but eventually, everyone works together on the salvage ship The Cathartes, a neutral party in the zone, whose main job for the past few years is doing salvage and junk cleanup around former warzones from various conflicts. They are not a military force, though some of the members are veterans of conflict seeking to get away from the politics that continue to ruin the Earth-side.
It’s after this conflict that the crew of The Cathartes are forced into a series of events that will lead them to confront the enigmatic leader of the ARES pirates and uncover what the pirate group’s true goals are.
For the uninitiated, the Universal Century is the original Mobile Suit Gundam timeline. Years are designated as U.C. 00XX. Major events are:
The most commonly seen combat suit in Gundam is the Mobile Suit, a humanoid mecha devised for combat in space, but also capable of conflict on the ground. The naming convention of Mobile Suit stands for Mobile Space Utility Instrumental Tactical. Other variations exist, including the larger and more powerful Mobile Armors.
Minovsky Particles
The suits are powered by a Minovsky ultracompact fusion reactor, a powerful fusion reactor that utilizes the Minovsky particle. While efficient and powerful, the destruction of the reactor can create horrific explosions on par with a nuclear blast. Due to the way Minovsky particles react with other types of radiation, radar systems and long-range wireless communication systems become useless, infra-red signals are diffracted and their accuracy decreases, and visible light is fogged. This is known as the "Minovsky Effect".
Characters will range from the ages of 18-40 and can come from a variety of backgrounds. The important thing is to create a cast of characters who have various skills to complement each other and to have different beliefs, attitudes, and personalities that build friendships, love, and conflict with one another. Throughout the conflict, characters will change, people will die, and characters will be forced to make difficult decisions.
Newtypes and Cyber-Newtypes
Due to exposure to life in outer space for nearly a century, many “spacenoids” have begun to evolve, showcasing a type of psychic power and extremely increased reflexes. While their powers have been used for conflict, some believe that the real purpose of a Newtype’s power is to connect with others and understand them.
Cyber-Newtypes are attempts to forcibly evolve non-Newtypes into a Newtype using surgery, drugs, and mental conditioning. Most Cyber-Newtypes showcase extreme mental instability, though their skills have been on-par with natural Newtypes. It is also possible for a Cyber-Newtype to become a natural Newtype in certain cases.
- The main rule is to keep this story believable. This section of the Universal Century is where the Real Robots of the Gundam Universe begin to exhibit some Super Robot capability, as seen with suits like the Zeta Gundam, Nu-Gundam, and the Unicorn Gundam. This is neither a good nor bad thing, though I do want the first act of the story to focus on the more gritty and cobbled together Real Robots of the two major factions.
- Customization of your Mobile Suit: This is totally fine, and actually encouraged. The protagonists are not military soldiers in this story but are basically civilians and mercenaries. It makes sense that the Mobile Suits they pilot are eventually customized and fine-tuned to their specifications.
- Characters can die. However, this story is also collaborative. The GM should not randomly point someone out to die, but if the story calls for sacrifice and tragedy, discussions may be had on characters dying. This is conflict, and these suits are not going to magically be able to handle beam rifle shot after beam rifle shot.
- Super Ace Prototype Gundams: No one will begin with an ace prototype super Gundam. My character’s MS is actually a junk MS, with parts salvaged from a Rick Dias, a GM-III, Jegan, and other parts. You can go as simple as piloting a repainted Geara Doga or Nemo, or as crazy as a cobbled-together mobile suit like mine.
Character Sheet Skeleton
