Archangel Frame uses a system based on playing cards to mechanize emotional exchanges and quantify skill in battle.

STRESS, WEAPONIZED

In Archangel Frame, emotional strain and pressure translate into combat ability. The ancient machinery of the Frames runs on the psychic energy of harm and fear. The punishing grind of life in Project Gabriel hones battlefield prowess at any cost. The game system of Archangel Frame centers on the cycle of tension and crisis. Project Gabriel bases are electric with doubts and worries that find resolution only in the chaos of war.

Archangel Frame uses playing cards to represent both psychological strain and combat potential. A character's Role determines how they interact with the playing card system: Administrators give out cards, Pilots and Mayflies use cards in battle, and Supports provide card sleeves that symbolize coping skills. 

chessboard.jpg

THE FOUR ROLES

  • Pilots are teenagers chosen and trained by Project Gabriel to interface with the Archangel Frames. Earth’s surviving mecha demand flexible and incomplete minds, making teenagers the only qualified operators. At the forefront of the war against the Devil Engines, pilots are child soldiers in the public eye. Harsh scrutiny and cruel punishment shape their lives.
  • Administrators are authorities within the base, overseeing strategic decisions and personnel assignments. With rank and station in Project Gabriel, the Administrators guide the progress of the ongoing war. In addition to their military responsibilities, Administrators carry out the psychological conditioning and emotional manipulation used to prepare Pilots for battle. It is an Administrator’s job to break hearts.
  • Support staff are ordinary workers at the base, employed by Project Gabriel to provide a specific service. Support skills include medical and psychological training as well as careers like entertainment and engineering. As the war takes its toll on Earth’s defenders, the Support staff lend energy and expertise to keep their colleagues intact. Project Gabriel’s war machine runs on human suffering; Support characters try to shield Pilots, Mayflies, and even Administrators from the emotional fallout.
  • Mayflies are participants in a highly publicized military sweepstakes, promising immense riches and a clean slate following a two-year period of harrowing military service. Mayflies see constant action, assigned the most dangerous missions and given experimental technology to test in the field. Some are thrill-seekers hooked on the rush of plummeting odds; others are repentant scoundrels or working poor wagering their lives to sustain their families. The Mayflies join battle alongside Pilots when Devil Engines attack.

LEARN MORE

Rules Primers are available for all four Roles here: Archangel Frame Primers.