Last update: September 7, 2001
This is where I talk about the campaign and its theme. I tend to blather a lot in this section, but in this case I will try to keep it short.
First, this is a Mech game, so it's sorta anime. But I guess it's rather severe anime, because normal anime doesn't involve human sacrifice as part of the storyline - except maybe by the bad guys. This isn't Japanimation - it's what Japanimation would be if the Aztecs ruled the world. Still, a lot of the themes common to anime - giant robots (or, in this case, mostly small powersuits), cinematic action, and interpersonal relationships. Romance may not play as large a part in this game as in Japanimation, but the interpersonal relationships between the characters are pretty important. At this point rock music is not a big part of the campaign, mainly because I have, thus far, been completely unable to find anything even remotely resembling Azteca Rock, and because the Azteca maintain what is essentially a very primitive culture.
This brings me to the next important aspect of the campaign - fantasy. The Spirit Warrior Empire has a very "fantasy" flavor, for all the big science involved in giant robots and powersuits and lasers and the like. Remember, the Azteca don't know how this stuff operates - to them it's magic, bestowed by the gods. In most cases they know how to operate it because the gods showed them how, but they have no clue how it works, and have little chance of fixing it when it breaks. In addition, there are gods wandering about, or at any rate creatures so powerful that for all intents and purposes they are gods to the Azteca, and would appear as gods even if they showed up on modern earth. These gods actually do muddle around in the affairs of mortals, particularly mortal Player Characters, bestowing favors, taking petty vengences for slights, etc. There are no atheists in the Spirit Warrior Empire - everyone believes in the gods, even the Chichimeca (though they aren't much interested in them and really just want to be left alone by them). Indeed, most of the characters (the Chichimeca again being an exception) will, in fact, be minor priests of their deities at the very least. The Spirit characteristic isn't possessed by most everyday people in the Spirit Warrior Empire - it represents the amount of interest that your patron deity pays to you. Granted you can take only moderate luck, but that is still considerably more individual attention than the vast majority of the population gets from the gods.
The player characters are elite by the standards of the universe. They have a fair number of skills and their attributes are above average. In being chosen to serve Yoali Ehecatl they are being assigned to one of the most dangerous and demanding jobs that the Spirit Warrior Empire has to offer - a job in which they may find themselves facing enemy mecha wearing nothing but powersuits, or even with nothing more than a war shield and an obsidian club to protect themselves! The life expectancy of Night Wardens is not high, but the chance for honor and a glorious death is.
In closing, just a word or two about character creation. DON'T overspecialize. In particular, do not sink a lot of points into Mecha skills. Characters may, from time to time, be called upon to pilot mecha, but it is far more likely that they will be spending the majority of their time in powersuits. If you want to start learning how to pilot a mech with experience then by all means do so, but sinking a lot of points into mech operation will make you pretty useless in the initial stages of the game. Also, DON'T EXPECT TO BE IN A POWERSUIT ALL THE TIME! There will be times when you will be dispatched to locales where a powersuit is a hinderance (the various city-states of the Azteca are a prime example) and then you will have only the traditional weapons of the Azteca with which to defend yourself in case of trouble.