ION Heart - Quickstart

ION Heart is a Lo-Fi Solo Mech TTRPG. Relax into your own story of interstellar exploration. Create a pilot and their mech best friend to sail the stars with. Discover planets, solar systems and cultures of your own making in the peaceful galaxy of the Astral Union. 

ION Heart is all about searching for your place in the universe. Your mech has been many things across its existence. From weapon of war to circus juggler it has led many lives with many pilots. Your job as a pilot is to bond with your mech as you explore together and find a home for both of you in the stars wherever your path may take you.

This Quickstart is a demo version and only contains a mere speck of the galactic proportions of the full release which is live now on Backerkit!

Stories in ION Heart take place as you explore the Astral Union. A peaceful conglomerate of cultures that spans the galaxy. A galaxy in which war had previously raged for millennia. Until now that is. All inhabitants of the galaxy united against a common foe. 

The Nephilim Collossi, an entropic all consuming force from the depths of space set on destruction. After the combined effort of all in the galaxy to repel the threat to their very existence the shaky coalition evolved into the Astral Union. 

The fighting forces of various factions all took advantage of pioneering mech technology. Piloting giant robots into battle powered by their human bonded AI system the Ion Core. Now the war is over and people have returned to their normal lives alongside their trusted mech companions. But with no wars to fight what place is there for a giant robot in a peaceful universe?

In ION Heart you'll be creating two characters, a pilot & a mech, the loveable duo you'll play as they adventure around the Astral Union together. Pilots will have their own origin and skills with a variety of different cultures to draw from. Agile and diplomatic Mo'Nau, wise and innovative Kirvae, industrious and resilient Urvon, there are many lives your pilot could have led up til now.

Much like the inhabitants of the Astral Union mechs come in all shapes and sizes. Although most mechs were built originally with war as their primary function most have now been modified for peaceful purposes from construction worker to cattle herder. You'll have many choice to make when creating your mech including its previous functions, chassis size, and upgrades.

You'll also modify your mech as the story goes on. The more in bonded you become with your mech the more its ION Core can do. As you and your mech grow closer your mech will level up unlocking not only physical upgrades but also uncovering memories of its past lives and pilots.

Once you've built your dynamic duo it's time to start exploring. ION Heart has two main story mechanics which are Settlements and Story Circuits. When you start a story in ION Heart you must create a planet, and on that planet a Settlement. This will be you narrative home base for your explorations on that planet. From the Settlement you can go out exploring, interact with inhabitants to fulfil your pilot and mechs needs, and begin Story Circuits.

Story Circuits are self contained narratives for you pilot & mech to explore. These can be anything from helping the local farmers solve their disappearing mega-sheep mystery to attending a war memorial for the fallen. Each circuit has 6 events, 5 which can be played in any order and then a finale which can be played after at least 3 events have been completed.