RetroRPG: Living Steel 

Don't think I mentioned it in this video, but the guys behind Living Steel were on hiatus from their careers with NASA as propulsion engineers, so the rules were actually written by rocket scientists, which perhaps explains their complexity. I remember me and my friends used to joke about these and another game (laserburn if I remember right) which took multiple minutes to calculate out each attack and damage and their long term effects "You're hit by the shot, and will bleed out in 35.2 minutes". Sounds like a cool way to enjoy the setting, which is absolutely brilliant. Thanks for sharing.

@@RPGGamer Funnily enough, Laserburn was the catalyst for my life-long (so far) love affair with table-top gaming. My first experience of games beyond Monopoly and Snakes & Ladders was Laserburn. A school friend had the rules (an A5 paper booklet, not unlike the rules for OD&D, if I remember rightly) around 1980, and I was enamoured with the collection of 15mm miniatures he was amassing. I didn't play more than a few games of Laserburn, but I was bitten with the bug, picking up several Task Force Games products, such as Intruder (great solo game take on Alien) and Starfire. From there, it was a downward spiral into D&D, AD&D, Traveller, Champions, Warhammer and beyond. That's a rabbit-hole I've yet to emerge from!

It's a gorgeous old game, and such a great setting, even if the rules are a little older and clunky in comparison to newer games.

The background is gorgeous, but Living Steel is definitely hampered by it's rules. The writers were taking a break from being Rocket Scientists for NASA (no joke, they really were propulsion specialists for NASA), and it shows.

Had to rewatch my video to work out what you meant by italicised guns, but yes, the grips, the scopes, even the end of the barrels are all angled exactly the same as if they were italicised, it looks cool, but weird. Living Steel is one of the best set ups for a game out there, giving the players the world in a way most other RPG's don't, wish it was still around. Side note I never mentioned in this video, the guys behind Living Steel, when their company went out of business they were forced to return to their former jobs, as NASA Rocket Scientists. If you look through their bibliographies, they have a load of RPG books and supplements, then stuff on oxygen breathing rocket motor operation at high altitudes. So when we thought the rules were complex, they were actually, really written by Rocket Scientists.

@@RPGGamer Yes, I agree with all your points. If you look at the complexity of Living Steel and Phoenix Command, its not a stretch of the imagination to see the authors as rockets scientist. I was thinking about rerunning LS but shying away from the system; its way too complex for me now to run and teach. I’m still thinking about the system. As you say, the background is excellent especially with the Rhand sourcebook and will make for an excellent campaign.

Yep, I've made comments about it being a game designed by Rocket Scientists, an amazing setting and a hard core simulationist rule system, so much to love in this game.

The Morrow Project is always a game I wanted to have a look at, but never got around to. Was there an enemy faction to fight in The Morrow Project though, from my impressions it was just a post holocaust survival game. Whereas not only are you the thawed out survivors of a lost war in Living Steel, but you're thrown into an alien invasion.

@@RPGGamer The Krell, if memory serves, were the cause for the destruction of Prime Base and the delayed wake-up signal in The Morrow Project. They were the primary antagonist group, but not the only faction, which makes the game easier to run and keep fresh.

My absolutely favourite fact about Living Steel is that the designers of it were actually rocket scientists at NASA before (and after) theur careers as game designers. So the rules were perhaps exactly like Rocket Science. Such a complicated system, but such an amazing game world.

@@RPGGamer you can believe it looking at the rules, I remember throwing a frag grenade then thinking that didn't do much damage, then having to roll on some additional damage table and watching my foes take hundreds of extra damage. It was a well designed system, just too slow for me.

My favourite point that I've repeated a lot, is that the authors were genuine NASA Rocket Scientists taking a break from NASA, so the rules are pretty much "Rocket Science". When the company closed down, they returned to their real jobs and have made massive contributions to space engineering.

Totally get that, Rhand is a great setting, one of the best in RPG's, but the rules are an absolute burden and pain.

I'll have a Role-Playing Game please!