Material copyright R.Talsorian Games 1985, 1987, 1996. All rights reserved under Universal Copyright Convention. This material may not be reproduced in any form without express permisson of R.Talsorian. Mekton, Mek, Algol and Roadstriker are trademarks of R,Talsorian Games, Inc. 1987.
There is a legend of a place,
A place called . . . Algol.
a million light years from here . . .
A far place, where mighty armies war
with gigantic
metal warriors . . .
They came hurtling out of the edge of the Galaxy,
escaping the last death throes of the collapsing Empire, pursued by the black warships of the reptiloid
AGGENDI. A single colony ship, packed with the last
surviving remnants of the HUMANI culture; survivors
of a terrible war that had decimated a score of worlds.
In their final battle with the Aggendi Battlefleet, the
colonists took a last desperate gamble, and sent their
great starship blindly into the void of unknown
Hyperspace. They emerged uncountable light years
from the Empire, to orbit around the star system they
named ALGOL.
It was a strange stellar neighborhood, with two giant
blue white stars, orbited by a smaller red dwarf and a
dark companion. The only inhabitable world revolved
around the quatrinary at an orbit twice that of
Pluto--a temperate waterworld, with two great land
masses covering the poles, and a single continent
straddling the equator. Because this last region was
the most temperate, it was here that they landed their
ship.
From within its huge holds, they unloaded the various
tools and machines they had brought to colonize a
new world. Among these tools were the greatest
inventions of the late Empire of Man--the giant
robots known as MECHA. The technology of mecha
permeated the entire fabric of Imperial life--there
were mecha units for farming and construction, travel
and exploration. The most powerful of these were the
MEKTONS--giant robot warriors designed as the
Empires greatest weapons of war.
Then the Aggendi found the colony.
The battle raged for a year, as the relentless sauroid
warriors hammered against the colony's defenses.
Finally, the last MEKTON defender fell, and the
Aggendi swarmed over the colony in an orgy of
slaughter and destruction. Then they returned to their
battle fleet and left for deep space.
But a handful of humani survived the Aggendi War,
hiding deep in the mountain strongholds and valleys
of the Murian Continent. Although the technology of
their Empire was now lost to them, they tried to keep
their proud ancestry alive through stories and
legends told to their children. Eventually, the last of
the original colonists died, and with them died the
secrets of the MEKTON defenders.
A thousand years passed. Slowly, the descendants of
the colonists reestablished civilization. In another
hundred years, two great nations straddled the
Murian continent--to the North, the idealistic and
intellectual Elarans; to the South, the warlike and
pragmatic Kargans. It was inevitable that war would
break out between them; a war which lasted a
hundred and ten bloody, violent years.
In the hundred and tenth year, the scholar Attikan
began to translated the volumes of the Old Books;
legends of a time of the First Men of Algol. From her
researches, she deduced that the original colony site
was an area known as the City of the Black Tower.
The site had been forbidden for many
centuries--legend held that those who spent the
night within its walls died soon afterwards of a great
death curse. Attikan correctly surmised that the death
curse was actually a side effect of radioactive
weaponry used by the Aggendi on the original colony
site--the Black Tower was the burned-out shell of
the colony ship itself. She journeyed with a
party of adventurers to the City, and in the ruins of the
huge metal Tower, uncovered many volumes of ancient
lore, These she took with her to the city of Kallicar where
she established a great hall of learning devoted to
deciphering the secrets of the First Men of Algol.
To the Medieval Age primitives of Muria, the knowledge
of the Old Empire was akin to magic--and so it was that
the students of Attikan became known as sorcerers and
mages. From the old books, they learned the secrets of
old weapons, tools, psionics and other Imperial
technologies. The greatest secrets of the First Men, those
of technology, remained undecipherable to Attikans followers for many centuries thereafter.
The nations of Algol fought savagely for many scores of
years. Eventually, three great migrations came to pass,
The Elarans, weary of battling the Kargan Empire, took
ship en masse to settle the colder, but uninhabited, continent covering the Northern Pole of Algol. The Kargans
expanded until they controlled the Southern Polar continent. Many of the dispossessed and disaffected from the
Murian Wars chose to settle in the scattered belt of
islands girdling the planet, known as the Archipelago.
Eventually, the followers of Attikan employed some of the
staggering new weapons they had developed and drove
both the remaining Kargans and Elarans off of Muria.
For the next two centuries, there was a period of relative
peace, enforced by the fact that the Kargans and the
Elarans were separated by 8,000 miles of treacherous,
monster--filled ocean. It was not until the advent of the
Algolian Steam Age that the Kargans were able to mount
a naval force capable of crossing the ocean and invading
Elara. After a brief, but savage war, the relatively
peaceful Elarans found themselves occupied, and their
leaders dead or in exile.
It was about this time that the first scientists of the
Algolian cultures began to realize a terrifying fact. While
Mankind had been wasting its time in two thousand years
of general warfare, an Ice Age had been happening
underneath their very noses. As the winters grew longer
and more severe; as the glacier packs began to cover
more and more land area, it became obvious that in
another 500 or so years, both the Elaran and Kargan
nations would be wiped out.
It may have been this knowledge that forced the Elarans
to throw off one hundred years of Kargan occupation.
Driven by desperation, the Elaran forces eventually took
back their nation and sent the Kargans packing. With
8,000 miles of ocean between them, and an Ice Age
slowly forcing them into the sea, both nations began to
cast eyes on the relatively warm, safe Archipelago region,
The Elarans began preparing for the Ice Age with
massive building projects designed to withstand the encroaching ice. The Kargans, conquerors by nature, began
to invade the peaceful Archipelago cultures. The Archipelago Peoples appealed to the Elarans for aid--and
the battle was joined.
The first battles for the Archipelago involved Kargan and
Elaran "protective" forces, who coincidentally set up
military colonies in the protected areas. A form of "cold
war" existed for ten years. In the eleventh year, there
came ARKON.
Arkon Verian was originally a gifted student and mage
from the school of Attikan. He excelled in the deciphering
of Imperial weapons technology, particular the use of
nucleonic fusion. It is unclear as to why he fled Muria, but
it is known that in the eleventh year of the cold war, he
appeared in the Kargan Imperial Court, offering his
services to the highest bidder.
The highest bidder was Torrian Korax, ambitious
pretender to the Throne. In exchange for a place by his
Throne, he demanded from Arkon the knowledge of how
to build nucleonic weapons. Armed with the ability to
vaporize a city in moments, Korax set out to crush the
Elaran resistance. In his first attack, he destroyed the
palace of the new King, Osmeron, killed Osmeron's
beloved wife, and seriously wounded his small daughter.
Arkons interference did not, however, go unnoticed.
Although the Murian Mages chose to remain neutral in
the conflict (enforcing this neutrality by use of a force
screen that vaporized any craft which entered Murian
air/sea space), one mage chose to go to the aid of the
embattled Elarans. This was Talliar Allexander, known
fondly by the Elarans as "Doctor Tal."
From Dr. Tal, the Elarans learned how to build their own
nucleonic weapons, turning the tide of battle. But Arkon
was not finished. Instead, he turned to his trump card--the arcane knowledge he alone had deciphered from
the books of Imperial Lore.
The secret of MEKTON.
The first MEKTON warmachines attacked on the start
of the new year. They decimated the Elaran capital of
Koriel, destroying the defenders in a matter of
minutes. In the battle, King Osmeron was forced to
retreat into the ice pack. A pitched battle raged for
the next ten years. Finally, in a desperate gamble,
Dr. Tal, Osmerons daughter Ymiri, and a young pilot
named Kerion infiltrated the Kargan Empire and
successfully brought back the secret of the MEKTON
warriors. Armed with that secret, they once again turned the tide of battle.
The MEKTON Wars have been raging for over
fifteen years. By this time, the secret of mecha
technology has influenced almost everyone on Algol.
Now construction, exploration and farming mecha
commonly appear in the skies, seas and cities of all
nations. Looters, traders and freelancers hire their
services as combat MEKTON fighters for protection or
loot. Over all this stands the spectre of the gigantic
combat MEKTONs-- and the war that still goes on. The
ice is still coming. And in the terrible contest of man
and MEKTON, only one side is going to win.
Algol II is classed as a waterworld with a primarily
temperate environment. Current conditions indicate
that the planet is passing through an ice age of
about 200,000 years duration, with the peak of
glaciation within the next 500 years. During this time,
the majority of the major land masses will. be
covered by vast ice sheets almost 600 feet thick. As
the ice covers the two polar continents of Karga and
Elara, the central archipelago of islands will be
exposed by the receding sea. The major island
continents of Kalia, Kondar; Lurin, Hedar and Karn;
and Jerrin, Manora and Bendak will eventually unify
as major land masses as more and more seawater
locks up into the polar glaciers.
Composed mainly of igneous strata, the planet
resembles an orange with two deep trenches
gouged latitudinally at the 40th parallels. It can be
assumed that as the planet cooled, the forces of
continental drift pulled the two main continents apart.
Due to the prevalence of many large and deadly
predators and a limited amount of accessable land,
much of Algol II has only been superficially explored.
A pattern of wars and disasters, coupled with a low
population rate, has hampered exploration futher.
Because of this, Algol can be considered an open
frontier, even for the technologically sophisticated
adventurer.
The star system of ALGOL is approximately some
350 light years from Earth. It is a quatrinary system,
with four suns orbiting a common center. The two
main suns are ALGOL (a blue giant about 10 times
larger than our own Sun), and MINBAR (a yellow sun
identical to our own). Orbiting around these suns at
equidistant points are KOBOL (a dim red dwarf star),
and the DARK COMPANION (a dim, burned out star).
Dwarfed by their larger companion star, the three
smaller suns of the Algol system appear as smaller,
brilliant dots against the background of the larger
blue giant. THE WORLD The planet ALGOL II is the second of the four planets
in the Algolian System. Orbiting at a distance roughly
about that of Saturn from the Sun, ALGOL II is
roughly 3/4ths the size of Earth, and has an orbital
rotation of 20 Standard Hours. The Algolian year is about 1,200
standard days long. There are three very small
moons orbiting equidistantly around the planet
(called Dion, Pikk and Desha). Each moons surface
albedo causes it to have a different color. Dion is
yellowish, Pikk is reddish pink, and Desha is bluish.
Because of the equidistant orbital pattern, there are
never more than two moons in the sky at any one
time--one is usually setting as the next one rises in
the western skies of Algol II.
CLIMATE & WEATHER
The weather of Algol's two polar continents is roughly
temperate, resembling the weather of Northern Europe
or the American Northwest. Winters are long, cold and
getting worse every year as the Ice Age progresses.
Summers are short, with temperatures rarely rising
above the 80s. Violent storms are common and a
constant hazard to the many seafaring nations of the
world. Although the climate of the equator is more
tropical (often resembling that of Bermuda or Mexico),
each year it becomes colder and less hospitable.
LIFE FORMS
The wildlife of Algol is on the whole a lot larger and
more nasty than that of Earth. In most cases,
humankind has been too busy trying to merely survive
in the hostile environment (or stop the equally hostile
neighbors) to do much more than thin out the worst
animals present. The fauna of Algol is either derived
from stock brought by the original colonists (like dogs,
cats, chickens and horses), or native lifeforms. The
native forms tend to run towards huge mammalian
types (much like those of Earths own Ice Ages), or
several species of warmblooded dinosauroids and
reptiles. Some native forms show an ability to focus
and use electrical and light energies as part of their
offensive armament. All of these show a distinct
inclination towards eating any small, moving creatures
available.
MAN ON ALGOL
When one considers the fact that the average Algolian
human isn't seven foot eight and weighing 400 Ibs, it's
remarkable that the species hasnt been wiped out
centuries ago by the faster and more vicious animal
life. The average human is about four foot ten to six
four, and weighs anywhere between ninety to three
hundred pounds. There are no distinct races on Algol;
most inhabitants have skin tones somewhere between
dark brown to albino, with a bewildering array of facial
features.
One characteristic of Homo Algolis is the wide variations in hair and eye colors. Hair tints range from
browns and blacks all the way to blues, greens, silvers
and any other conceivable shade. Eyes are equally
variable. Genetics do not appear to be a factor, as blue
haired parents can easily have children with yellow,
white or brown hair. It is suspected that hair and eye
colors are related to individual biochemistries and
diets. Homo Algolis is disease resistant, highly
adaptable, and less prone to fatigue, shock and mental
illness. (It's been argued that Kargan behavior is not
mental illness, but merely ruthlessness). Algolian
women have a slightly longer gestation period (1 year),
and a tendency to give birth to twins. The average
Algolian has faster reaction times and stronger
muscles than his Terran counterpart, allowing him to
move at blinding speeds and make incredible leaps. In proportion to the local wildlife, this
may only be a leveler.
HUMAN CULTURES
Algolian cultures divide into four stocks --the Kargans of
the southern polar continent, the Elarans of the north,
the Archipelagans of the Equator, and the Murians of
the central continent.
Not much is known about the culture of Muria; legends
speak of a heavily education based culture with a
reverence for the natural order, but this is based on
tales over a thousand years old and not on recent
observation (a five mile high barrier of force prohibits
on-site anthropology studies).
The Kargans and the Elarans exhibit many similar
characterstics, as one might expect as they both evolved out of roughly the same national stock. Elarans are
by nature open, friendly and not terribly warlike.
Kargans are suspicious, violent, warlike and militaristic.
Both nations have evolved a sophisticated level of
technology which includes nucleonic power,
computers, fan and jet vehicles, and limited space
travel.
The Archipelagans are primarily traders and
adventurers, travelling in large, energy efficient fan
carriers from port to port. They are clever, shrewd, and
friendly to strangers, as befits a trading people. They
take a delight in oral history and artistic craftsmanship.
As each island group has its own variations on the
basic Trader culture, it is only possible to generalize
without an island by island accounting.
Three other subgroups exist on Algol; the nomadic
Etarra Traders, the semi barbaric Looters, and the
desert dwelling Shafirin.
The Etarra are an offshoot of the Archipelagan
cultures, travelling in their giant fan carriers from place
to place. They are consumate scavengers and
technicians, whose lives revolve around installing,
repairing or altering whatever bits or wrecked
technology they discover in the ruins of abandoned
cities. A consequence of this facility for machines is
that they are much in demand as technicians. They are
fond of bright clothes, music, stories and gadgets of all
types.
The technobarbaric Looters are derived from the
outcasts of all of the other cultures. They also recover
and restore much of the abandoned technology of the
MEKTON Wars, which they then use to raid and loot
smaller villages and cities. Looters are violent,
untrustworthy, and hated by everyone including the
Kargans.
The Shafirin live in the high mountain deserts and
plateau areas of central Kargan. They use their looted
military hardware to fight a long term guerilla war with
the Empire. They are honest, fierce fighters, have
strong clan and family ties, and have a fondness for
fine weapons. preferably just taken off the body of a
dead Kargan warrior.
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS Since earliest times, Elaran government operated on
a loose form of feudalism, where the King was judge,
jury and executioner throughout the Seven
Kingdoms. This pattern has mellowed in the
intervening centuries. At present, the King is a
hereditary monarch, usually coming from one of the
seven noble families of the Kingdoms. The King
presides over the High Council, each member of
which has the right of one vote on government
issues. The King retains the right to overrule the
decision of the Council, unless that vote is
unanimous; his main purpose is to propose issues
and problems to be solved by the Council. The
members of the Council are drawn from the governing boards of each of the arcology cities. These
governing boards are in turn elected by the citizens
of each city. Because of the structure of Elaran
government, there is a great deal of political
maneuvering and alliance building going on all the
time.
On the other hand, government seems a mild term
for the web of assassination, treachery and deceit
which passes for political structure in the Kargan
Empire. The Empire rests on the person of the
Imperial Family, while beneath are levels of powerful
noble families who struggle for advantage with the
Throne--or if powerful enough, a shot AT the Throne.
(The current Emperor, KORAX, murdered his
predecessor with his own war knife.) A determined
Kargan warrior can hope that with enough gold, glory
and assassins, he too can one day mount the Seat of
Skulls and rule over the Provinces of the Empire.
The key to getting ahead in Kargan politics is to get a
patent of nobility, through deeds in battle or by birth.
By allying oneself with the right Barons and Dukes,
he can gather more land, titles and personal troops
to himself, all the while looking over one armored
shoulder for the knife, poison or accusation of
treason that he knows is coming. Of course,
overshadowing this all is the dread shadow of the
Secret Police; the KAAVAAK. The Kaavaak has spies
and informers in every family, base and home. Lists
of undesi rabies circulate through the massive stone
walls of the Kaavaak Headquarters, known as the
Black Tomb. A Kaavaak Political Officer can destroy
your life with a word.
Politics among the Archipelagos is more informal
than the politics of the major nations. Each island
usually has a council of Elders, drawn from the
various families or trading cartels. A similar situation
exists among the Ettarra with each Council presiding
over a single Fan Carrier city. Among the Looters, of
course, power goes to the strongest and most
vicious. After all, how can you trust a leader who
can't kill you with his bare hands?
Every so often, someone on Algol proposes a
republic or a democratic voting system. It's a sign of
the times that hes usually stepped on by a MEKTON
the next morning.
HOUSING For the first thousand years of Algolian history, city
planning was a matter of picking a source of raw
materials, and throwing up a city. The MEKTON Wars
have changed that forever. Now that a MEKTON force
can level a small city in a matter of minutes, the
defenders of Algol have turned to the fortress
mentality of an earlier time for a solution. Rather than
dispersed city blocks, they have created huge living
complexes, or ARCOLOGIES, which house hundreds
of thousands at once, and yet, because of their
compacted structures, are equally able to defend
those many thousands in the most efficient way.
ARCOLOGY structures are multileveled, with
residential and working areas built into the sides of
either deep, fortified bowls or in the sides of several
mile-long buildings. Parks, meeting halls, factories
and shopping districts are melded into one seamless
whole, so that city dwellers need not ever leave the
protection of the citys defense perimeter. Some
constructions make use of natural formations like
cliffs or extinct volcanoes in their designs. Others use
massive human constructs as a basis; Arcadia, in
Elara, is built into the face of a huge dam. All are
compact, modern, and heavily defensible. They are
also constructed as close to the Equatorial Ocean as
possible, to survive the coming Ice Age. As the great
Kargan builder, Errina Kendar said, "Why should I
move all this earth just to have some glacier come
along and fill it in a century later?" At this time, close to eighty percent of the
populations of the major nations live in the arcology
mega-cities, safe in their concrete fortresses, while
above, electronic eyes and laser cannon banks
search the skies for the next assault.
ECONOMICS AGRICULTURE The world of Algol is particularly land poor, because
the majority of Algol is either under the ocean or
rapidly being encroached on by the nearest glacier.
As a result, all farming is heavily intensive and
designed to get the maximum yield per acre. The age
of the Algolian family farm died at least two hundred
years ago. Besides the intensive farming effort, there
are extensive projects underway in fish farming,
sea--plant processing, and hydroponics. Because of
this emphasis on sea--farming, the Algolian diet is
rather Japanese--like; lots of fish, vegetables, and
very little meat.
One aspect of the ongoing MEKTON War is the
attempts by both sides to undermine the others
economic base. A fair amount of military force is
spent in either raiding or defending each nations far
flung food raising operations.
RAW MATERIALS
Another battlefront in the MEKTON Wars is the
struggle to discover and defend various iron, copper
and petroleum deposits. The relative scarcity of raw
materials forces each nation to conserve its
resources and to practice recycling whenever
possible. As a result, the most terrible battles are
often fought AFTER a major engagement, when rival
groups of scavengers converge on the battlefield,
looking for wrecked military hardware.
MONEY
Before the Kargan Occupation, the standard unit of
currency in the Elaran Seven Kingdoms was the gold
CROWN, a dime--sized coin embossed with the
Great Seal on one side and the face of the reigning
monarch on the other. (Coin collectors can date
Elaran coins by observing which king is on the coin
face. "The older the king, the better" is a common
Elaran phrase which has nothing to do with the age
of the king, but rather, the value of his coins.) After
the occupation, much of the Elaran treasury was
taken to Kargan. Because the Crown used a higher
percentage of gold in its minting, it gradually became
the standard currency in the Empire and the
Archipelago, as well as Elara. One crown is equal to
one credit in the MEKTON Roleplaying System.
A recent alternative to the Crown is the BANK CHIP
This is a small metal plate with a keypad and
integrated circuitry impregnated inside. The card
automatically registers the money you have earned in
the previous month, adding it to the remainder from
before. The keypad allows entries and debits to be
made to and from your account--a thumbprint reader
in the card keeps track of which card is which. You
may order a bank chip account at any major banking
house (all major nations now have this system,
though the cards cannot be interchanged between
countries).
CONSUMER GOODS
The world of Algol has a technological level roughly
equal to or higher than that of a major 20th century
Terran nation (circa 1960-1990). As such, almost
anything you could buy in a modern shopping mall is
available to an Algolian consumer. The biggest
problem isnt finding things to buy--it's getting the
money to BUY things. In Elara, this is as simple as
finding a well--paying career, but in Kargan, it may
involve escaping serf status and the oppressive
thumb of the local baron.
TECHNOLOGY
Since the time of the Great Migration from Muria,
Algolian technology has had the extra push that
comes from knowing that some ancient Murian
magician is already doing with magic what you have
to with brute force. It took only a few legends of
magicians creating eternal lights or of machines that
carried one over the earth faster than a man could
run, to inspire some Algolian Edison or Ford to make
his own slightly less elegant version.
The current technology level of the advanced nations
is roughly equal to that of a modern 20th century
Terran nation, such as the United States or Japan.
There are equivalents of television, telephones,
recorded music, stoves, refrigerators and motion
pictures. One area in which Algolian Science
surpasses our own is in the area of transportation.
The invention of nucleonics made it possible to power
cars with jets or fans, requiring fewer paved roads
and highways.
Warfare being the primary occupation of most of
Algol, military technology has reached staggering
heights. In addition to variable hydraulic servos and
refractive plasteel armor, MEKTON--sized energy
weapons are very common. The result is a form of
warfare that is extremely violent and destructive. If
there was ever an anti--war protest movement on
Algol, it must have been vaporized years ago.
MEDICINE
When most of your population is at war all the time,
you need the best medical care possible. On Algol,
advances like laser surgery and cryonics are already
commonplace. Primitive forms of suspended
animation fields have reached the operational stage,
and are being used to transport wounded back from
distant battlefields; a man can often survive up to a
full week in such suspension tanks.
Besides advancements in battlefield surgery, the
Algolians have also developed a number of
pan--specific antibiotics capable of eradicating a
variety of diseases. Another recent advance is an oral
contraceptive usable by either sex, available as either
a liquid or a pill to be taken once a week.
ALPINE: A low, cypress like conifer adapted to living on snow and ice fields.
Alpines are resinous and burn with a fierce heat. The bluish berries are
edible, and the main food source for many animals.
ANDOR: Main city in Andor Province, Elara. Andora is a moderate sized city
built into a massive crag overlooking the Bay of Yvonna. It is known for its
fine glass and steel craftsmanship, and for the Library of Andora, a
repository of knowledge from the past.
ANDORA HIGHROAD: A modern Elaran superhighway spanning the route
from the Andoran plain to the city of Kandar. The Andoran Highroad is so
named because it is elevated forty feet off the ground on a series of piers.
Thie elevated highway is rarely open to attack by anything short of a
MEKTON assault.
ARCADA: Arcada is built into a massive dam overlooking the Sea of
Emmeris. The dam provides power to the Elaran cities of Luriel and Arcol.
Arcada, known for producing fine weapons and armor, was the exiled Elaran
Thrones capital during the Occupation. Arcada is also known for its fine
cuisine, something like French Novelle Cuisine.
ARCADIAN ROAD: Highway between Arcada and Loriel, replacing the now
destroyed Mirion Pass Road. Elevated twenty feet to avoid the deadly
predators of the Elaran Wildlands, the roads construction was one of the
most perilous undertakings in Algolian engineering history.
ARCOL: A moderate sized Elaran city built into the cliffs of the Bay of Orb. Arcols great
sea-farms produce about a third of Elaras food supply Arcol is known for its
excellent seafood, its textiles work, and its publishing houses.
ATTIKAN (2190-2260): A scholar from the Pre-Expulsion days, who first
deciphered the ancient secrets of the Old Empire, and established the
Attikan magecraft schools in an attempt to disseminate her knowledge.
BLACK TOWER: The central structure in the Murian city of the same name,
it is a black metal cylinder a tenth of a mile in height and approximately a
tenth mile around its base. Modem researchers believe it to be the main hull
of a colony starship from the Old Empire.
BEACHMASTER CRAB: A scavenger/hunter that dwells in midocean
weedbeds and most beaches. SIZE: Small STRUCTURE: Crablike MA: 80 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 50.
BENDAK: A Kargan city built into the upper cliffs overlooking the Bay of
Bendak. Bendak is known for its fine tooled steel, and many famous
restaurants. Bendakin food is something like Earthly Chinese Hunan
cooking.
CARRIER: Classification of utility mecha commonly used in most major
cities. Carriers usually have a fan system for movement, two to six lifting
arms with hands, a torso and no head. Some carrier types are used in police
work, mounting a single laser in the front of the torso.
CITADEL: The seat of the Kargan Empire and Throne. The Citadel is a
massive black and green marbled structure. It is a fortress in itself, with its
own MEKTON base, living quarters, food storage and dungeons.
BREADLEAF: A low, yellow plant with thick, fleshy leaves. Barely edible
when raw; cooked, the leaves give off an appetizing aroma and taste like
cornbread.
CALLIAN RANGE: The main "spine" of mountains running east--west along
the Elaran continent. The highest peak is Victrix Leanna (elevation 16,000
feet). The only well charted pass through the Range is the Mirion Pass. The
Range is home to a wide variety of dangerous animals and people.
CRYSTAL PALACE: Seat of the Throne and Kingship of Elara, the Palace
has its own living, shopping and power facilities. The name comes from the
construction of the upper tiers of the Palace, which are made of a reflective
granite from the shores of the Crystal Sea.
CRYSTAL SEA: A now completely frozen inland sea in the north of Elara. The name comes from
the rare reflective granite surrounding its shores. The Crystal Sea is a well-known haunt of the Ettarra techno-gypsies.
DEATHGRASS: A deadly mimic of the normal blue-green grass of Algol,
deathgrass is only distinguishable by the presence of the blue and yellow
vultureflies around it. If stepped into, millions of tiny barbed hooks extend
from each plant and shred the prey.
DESERT OF CHRONOS: A barren,
cold desert in southern Kargan, near the city of Kardak. It is the site of a
number of now deserted cities, and is often visited by Ettarra and Looter
parties looking for abandoned technology.
ETTARRA: A nomadic trading culture which lives on immense fan
transporter-cities, following food supplies and trade routes.
FALLS OF ARCADY: As the River Tirion comes out of the Callian Range, it makes a
spectacular 2,000 foot drop to the surface of Lake Arcady the artificial lake
created by the city-dam of Arcada. It is a favorite tourist attraction and
honeymoon spot for lovers.
FAN TRANSPORTER: Also known as fan carriers, transporters are huge
flatbed trucks used to move mecha from place to place. Larger fan
transporters may have living and machine shop facilities built into the cab
sections.
FlORA: An Elaran island city now destroyed in the MEKTON wars. An
estimated fifty missiles fell on Fiora. The resulting impacts cracked the crust,
sinking the city into the Sea of Mardak. Attempts to recover artifacts from the
area have been hampered by severe weather and packs of Fog Hunters.
FOG HUNTER: Resembling ancient Earthly plesiosaurs, but with scythelike
tails, Fog Hunters stay submerged until fogs or early morning mists rise on
the ocean. They then strike through the fog at feeding shoals of fish,
whipping their long necks and narrow heads back and forth: Fog Hunters will
attack ships when they are encountered, and are adept at plucking men off
open deck areas. SIZE: Huge STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 100 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 70.
FOREST OF KAOL: Vast tract of alpine torest north of the now dead city of
Tandar in Elara. The forest covers most of the high plateau area and is
whipped by dense fog and arctic winds.
FOREST OF LORIEL: Mixed alpine and meadowland forest north of Loriel in
Elara. During the Kargan Occupation, resistance groups used the Forest as
a staging area, drawing upon legends of a band of good outlaws who dwelt
there four centuries earlier.
FORTRESS OF TANDAR: A massive stone city-fortress on the high plateau
of Kaol in Elara. One of the last cities to fall in the Occupation, it was
undermined by a Kargan biological plague weapon. The seige killed every
man, woman and child in Tandar -- and not one surrendered.
GREY HUNTER: Packs of these large, loping predators travel hundreds of
miles seeking game. They are silent and deadly with glowing red eyes and
long, woiflike bodies. A blue white electrical static charge surrounds them,
making them highly visible at night. SIZE: Large STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA:120 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous
DEX: 70.
GUNFARK: Massive armored lizard herbivore with two independently
moving heads, the gunfark likes to wallow in marshy areas or streambeds
until alarmed. Then it runs over the disturbance at 50 mph. Gunfarks are a
hazard even to MEKTONs. SIZE: Huge STRUCTURE:Quaduped MA: 120 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 40.
ICECAT: Icecats are the chief predator of the glacier pack, roaming their
solo ways over hundreds of miles. Icecats are not designed to run dowr their
prey but are very good at setting up ambushes along their paths. Kargans
occasionally train young icecats as hunting animals. SIZE: Very Large
STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 80 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 80.
ILLYRIA: Deserted almost a hundred years ago, when the glacier pack
began to overrun it, Illyria is now partially entombed in the icepack. It is still
occasionally visited as a source for artifacts and information.
IMPERIAL TACTICAL ACADEMY: The training school for Kargan warriors of the
future, the Academy specializes in weapons training, interrogation, strategy
and political power theory. It is considered to be a mark of honor to attend
the Academy and a requirement for any young Kargan nobles education.
KALIA: Large island subcontinent in the Archipelago, recently colonized by
the Elarans. It is often attacked by Kargan forces on the nearby
subcontinent of Kandar. Kalia and Kandar are the sites depicted in the first
edition MEKTON map.
KANDAR: A moderate sized Elaran city located in the fertile plains of
Kandar Province. Kandars huge farms produce most of the grain and
vegetable crops of Elara. Kandar itself is a massive, castle--like arcology
rising from a low hill.
KAOL: Originally a city in the Forest of Kaol, deserted during the Kargan
Occupation. Now the name of the entire region of Elara northwest of
Mishtar, including the now deserted fortress of Tandar. There is some
evidence that Kaol, now overgrown by the forest, may be home to the Tar-Fior, a refugee group that escaped the Fiora disaster.
KARDAK: A Kargan
city built into the bowl of a vast extinct volcano. Kardak is a major base of
the Kargan Imperial Army as well as a major source of processed food
products.
KARDAK, MT (42,100 ft): An enormous extinct volcano, Mt. Kardak is the
site of the Kardak arcology.
KARGOL: Major Kargan city, rising from a mountainside overlooking the
sea. Kargol is considered something of a resort area, and many Kargan
nobles maintain estates in the area.
KEOR: Once a prosperous Elaran coastal city on the inland Sea of Emmeris, Keor was deserted when the sea froze up. Both the Looters and the Ettarra have fought an ongoing battle for possession of Keor in the last few
years.
KERRISS: Major Kargan city at the base of the Kerrissian Plateau. Kerriss
is known for its fine craftsmanship in metals, its woven rugs, and the many
nobles castles in the area.
KERRISSIAN PLATEAU: A massive plateau region in Kargan, rising in
sheer rock walls from the forest some twenty thousand feet below, with the
massive volcano Kardak rising from its southernmost tip. The Plateau is a
mysterious and dangerous region, with many legends and tales
surrounding it.
KICKLIZARD: Large, ostrich--like lizards that live in open plain areas.
Kicklizards rush their prey and kick it to death with their massive rear legs.
A massed kicklizard attack can destroy a small mecha or support vehicle.
SIZE: Very Large STRUCTURE: Birdlike MA: 120 TEMPERAMENT:
Vicious DEX: 75.
KIMIR: Small Kargan city overlooking the partially frozen Bay of Binir. An
arcology cut deep into the rocks of a desolate, high cliff face, Kimir is
known for its fighting men, the most feared warrior class in the Empire.
KORAX, EMPEROR (2600--present): Current Emperor of the Kargan Empire,
Korax came to power in 2630, when a successful assassination plot
eliminated Cerian II, the previous Emperor. Korax is a strong and ruthless
leader, and under his domination, the Empire has become a powerful
modern war machine.
KREGOR DRAGON: The largest predator on the open seas, Kregor
Dragons will attack anything, although their main prey is the Fog Huntet A
wreath of ripping tentacles ring a gaping mouth filled with ten rows of teeth.
The eyes appear to have the ability to generate and fire a laser-like beam of
energy -- the lancing beam is used to wound the faster Fog Hunters and
make them easier prey Kregor Dragons are heavily armored solo hunters.
SIZE: Huge STRUCTURE: Fishlike, with tentacles MA: 100
TEMPERAMENT: Vicious DEX: 60.
KORIEL: Koriel was the first city founded on the Elaran continent, and has
stood in various forms for hundreds of years. It is the administrative,
business and trade center for the Seven Kingdoms of Elara, as well as the
seat of the Kingship. It is primarily a seaport city facing the Bay of Telos.
During the MEKTON Wars, the original Koriel was obliterated, and a new
arcology city has replaced it. The arcology not only covers the original city
area, but also spans the river Telos in a series of ingenious suspension
levels.
KORTHAD: Korthad is the ancient capitol city of the Empire, and is a
massive construction built into the side of Mt. Korthad. A center of Kargan
culture and trade for several hundred years, Korthad is one of the few cities
on Algol that is not constructed on an arcology plan. Korthad is also known
for its fine cuisine (Korthan food is somewhat like Szechwan cooking).
LEAPER: Leapers are dolphinlike lizards with long, toothy snouts. Leapers
are fairly intelligent, as they hunt in cooperative packs and use a form of
language between themselves. SIZE: Large STRUCTURE: Fishlike MA: 120 TEMPERAMENT: Neutral DEX: 80.
LOOTERS: Barbarian gangs who raid small cities and deserted strongholds,
using MEKTONS scavenged from the battlefield.
LURIEL: The major trade port of the Elaran kingdoms, Luriel is built on a
series of low rolling beaches and bluffs surrounding the Bay of Tabs. Luriel
is considered a recreation, travel and shopping city and as such may be the
only area of the Seven Kingdoms with a major tourist trade.
MARDAK, SEA OF: Rough and treacherous area infested with fogs, ice
floes, Kregor Dragons and Fog Hunters. Not recommended for fishing.
MARSHES OF MISHTAR: The marshy area surrounding the Elaran city of
Mishtar. A treacherous place, with a great many large and inimical lifeforms.
Noted for patches of glowing marsh-gas, called "Mishtar Ghosts."
MEKTON: A class of mecha developed for warfare and combat. MEKTONS
are distinguished from other mecha in that they are armored, carry weapons,
are usually much faster and more maneuverable.
MIRION PASS: The only well-known pass through the Callian Range,
leading to the now abandoned Elaran cities of Illyria and Keot Prowled by
large predators and roving Looter packs, the Pass is mostly blocked by
rubble from repeated Kargan missile strikes.
MISHTAR: Located in dense marshland, Mishtar is a recently constructed
arcology built on the site of the original city. The arcology is constructed on
tiers overlooking the marsh, making it very hard to approach.
MURIA: Australia-sized continent on the Equator, the original landing site of
the First Algolian colonists, and now home of the fabled Mages of Muria.
Muria is shielded by a fifteen mile high force field englobing the entire continent.
OLD BOOKS: A collection of twenty massive, ancient volumes, discovered
by the scholar Attikan during her expedition into the City of the Black Tower.
Printed in an unknown script on metal pages, the Old Books appear to have
been a form of the Encyclopedia Galactica, with history and information
about the First Men and their now long dead Empire. The books are
reputedly stored in the Library of Attikan, on the Murian subcontinent.
OLD EMPIRE: Fabled starfaring empire, written of in the Old Books of the
First Men. The people of the Old Empire possessed great powers of mind
and science, but their mighty empire fell to the depredations of the warlike
Aggendi. The legends say that the Empire extended from the constellation
of the Scorpion to the regions of Canopia, a volume of some fifteen million
light years.
OSMERON, ETTIN II (2610--present): Current king of the Seven Kingdoms of Elara.
A wise tactician and ruler, Osmeron is well liked by the Elaran people and respected
for his judgement.
PATTERN CAT: A smaller type of icecat, with the ability to adjust its
coat color to match surrounding vegetation. Pattern cats work in mated pairs, setting
ambushes for their prey Easier to train than icecats, they are more commonly used as
hunting animals. SIZE: Medium STRUCTURE:Quadruped MA: 80 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 80.
ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY: Located in Koriel, this is where Elaran
military officers traditionally are trained. The course of study covers four
years, concentrating on tactics, personal and mecha combat. It is assumed
that all Elaran military MEKTON pilots have attended the Academy at one
point in their careers.
SCREAMER: An extremely fast form of predator which uses a form of
natural teleportation to hunt down runner herds, It appears to flicker
momentarily from place to place, always within 20 feet of its last position. It is
a solo hunter. SIZE: Large STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 300+ TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 90.
SEA OF EMMERIS: The semi frozen inland sea spanning northern Keor to
the Pole. In its chill waters are many small marine animals considered
delicacies by Algolians.
SEVEN KINGDOMS: The seven provinces of Elara (Andor, Koriel, Door,
Luriel, Tarna, Kaol and Mishtarl, originally formed in 2536 from a confederation of separate kingships.
SILVERS: Small, minnowlike fish common all over the Great Sea. They are
the basis for most of the ocean ecosystem, feeding on plankton.
SIZE: Very Small STRUCTURE: Fishlike MA: 100 TEMPERAMENT: Timid DEX: 75.
SONGLIZARD: A small lizard with a large throat pouch, which it inflates
when singing. The fluid trills and whistles are a complex mating call, and
make the lizards a highly prized pet. Songlizards come in variety of vivid
colors. They are temperamental and die easily SIZE:Very Small STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 40 TEMPERAMENT: Timid DEX: 65.
TALLIAR, ALLEXANDER (2600--present): Murian "mage" and nucleonics
expert who came to the aid of the embattled Elaran freedom fighters. A
student of the Attikan School, "Dr. Tal" is a young, somewhat eccentric
character prone to flights of fancy and obscure references.
SPEEDERS: There are roughly 120 varieties of speeders, all of them roughly
torpedo shaped fish which leap from the water in 20 yard jumps, aided by long
slender fins. They are the main food fish on Algol. SIZE: Small to Large.
STRUCTURE: Fishlike MA: 80 TEMPERAMENT: Neutral DEX: 80.
TARKAS: Major industrial city in northeastern Kargan. Tarkas is built in a
series of arcs over a huge, strip--mined valley. Its blast furnaces operate
dayand night, supplying the raw materials for the Kargan war machine.
UNIVERSITY OF KORIEL: The major education center on Algol, the
University is located in its own self--contained arcology near Koriel,
encompassing the Royal Library and the Royal Museum of Scientific and
Natural History.
URU KILLER: The only thing big enough and nasty enough to regularly
tackle a gunfark, the Uru Killer will attack anything big enough to attract its
rather nearsighted attention. It makes a habit of attacking MEKTONS, and is
rarely discouraged by anything as trivial as a missile or laser. SIZE: Huge
STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 120 TEMPERAMENT: Vicious DEX: 50.
WHISTLEMOUSE: Small, fluffy brown rodent which eats berries and nuts.
Its two storage pouches can be inflated, allowing the mouse to produce an
earsplitting whistle, stunning its predators. SIZE: Very Small STRUCTURE:
Quadruped MA: 60 TEMPERAMENT: Timid DEX: 70.
YMRI (2629--present) Princess of the Seven Kingdoms of Elara and daughter of
King Osmeron. Princess Ymri is an accomplished swordswoman and fighter, a holy
terror in a mecha suit, and an excellent tactician. Material copyright R.Talsorian Games 1985, 1987, 1996. All rights reserved
under Universal Copyright Convention. This material may not be reproduced
in any form without express permission of R.Talsorian. Mekton, Mek, Algol
and Roadstriker are trademarks of R,Talsorian Games, Inc. 1987.
AGGENDI: The ancient sauroid race which pursued the First Men to Algol and later destroyed the colony. The Aggendi were described in the Old Books as being bipedal, with armored, dark green skin, and seven long taloned fingers.
ARKON VERIAN (2605 to present): A scientist-mage from the Murian
continent, Arkon specialized in nucleonic and robotic technologies, which he
then sold to the highest bidder. It is unclear as to why he fled Muria, but it is
known that he was instrumental in the development of MEKTON technology
and of the Kargan Emperors subsequent rise to power.
CONSTRUCTOR: A variant of the Carrier class mecha, constructors often
have welding, riveting and concrete-pouring tools built into specialized
arms. The are most commonly used in major building projects.
FENRIS: A small, doglike pack hunter, preying on lizards and mice,
Fenrises will flee humans whenever possible. but if raised from pups, will
make excellent pets. SIZE: Small STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 100 TEMPERAMENT: Neutral DEX: 65.
FLOATER: Globular gas balloons with some limited control of movement.
Floaters have an infrared sense that allows them to home in on prey up to 20
miles. They then drop onto the prey and strangle it with their tentacles. SIZE:
Medium STRUCTURE: Tentacled MA: 40 TEMPERAMENT: Dangerous DEX: 34.
GREAT HIGHWAY: Elevated Elaran road running from Kardar to Arcol. The
road is elevated to a height of fifteen feet, making it safe from attacks by all
but flying creatures.
HIDEMOUSE:This hampster-like rodent lives in extensive underground
runways. It has a mania for collecting and storing any novel object, no two
alike, limited only by whether it can drag the object away The hidemouse
with the largest "museum" appears to enjoy some type of mating advantage.
As hidemice often loot wrecked vehicles and locked storerooms, many
adventurers make a hobby out of hunting down hidemouse lairs and looting
the contents themselves. Hidemice are very clever thieves, even able to
distinguish between makes and models of the same object, thus making
them useful pets -- and the bane of most arcologies. SIZE: Very Small
STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 20 TEMPERAMENT: Timid DEX: 80.
MECHA: Generic term for any large, man controlled robotic mechanism,
coined by the Japanese of the Late Pre-Empire. Mecha come in many
different forms, though most of them are roughly humanoid--shaped.
OOKLOO: A small omnivore with huge green eyes, the ookloo has nimble
fingers and a prehensile tail. Although it is well armed with needle sharp
teeth, it mainly depends on its ability to hypnotize semi-- intelligent
organisms. Charming and cute, it is often adopted as a household pet
where it spends its time stunning and eating marauding hidemice. SIZE:
Small STRUCTURE: Quadruped MA: 40 TEMPERAMENT: Defensive DEX: 35
RUNNER: A small, deerlike herbivore common in forest and plains. It
defends itself with its horns and a heavy jointed bone tail which can club a
predator senseless with one blow (12 Hits of damage). SIZE: Medium STRUCTURE: Quadruped
MA: 120 TEMPERAMENT:Neutral DEX: 80.
VICTRIX LEANNA, MT (elevation: 16,000 ft): Highest peak in the Callian
Range, located in northern Keor Province. Unscaled by anyone yet, Victrix
Leanna translates as "Leanna's Victory" and commemorates a legendary
victory of the heroine Leanna over the barbarians who inhabited the region
about 1,000 years ago.