Lancer RPG Passes the Torch With New Kickstarter

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It’s been over a year since we’ve seen any major official or third-party content released for the Lancer RPG. A new Kickstarter, however, is looking to change all that, offering more giant mech goodness for the popular mud-and-laser system. Entitled Pass the Torch, the project is being led by indie RPG designer Nick Hertzberg (also known as Mogrit) under his imprint Ironclad Escapades.

The final product will be a complete narrative campaign broken into three acts (each of which is a standalone booklet) and set 1,000 years into the future of the current Lancer timeline, taking players from License Level 0 to 12. It also includes new artwork, new mechs, new NPCs and a player’s guide. Crowdfunding runs from now until May 21st and you can back it directly on Kickstarter. Below, we suit up, lock and load and blast apart all the details.

What is the Lancer RPG?

Lancer is a sci-fi tabletop RPG that that blends rules-light narrative play with turn-based, tactical mech combat. The game is set 15,000 years in the future, with humanity having developed faster-than-light technology and colonized thousands of planets. Much of the game’s lore, however, is focused on the Orion Arm, a sprawling area of the galaxy now largely under the control of a utopian central government known as The Union. Players take on the role of elite pilots called “Lancers,” who operate high-tech mechs and battle oppressive tyrants, military dictatorships and mega-corporations operating on the frontiers of space outside the rule of the Union.

The lore is incredibly dense and perhaps best known for its surprisingly optimistic view of the future, while also exploring unique themes such as benevolent AI, transhumanism, post-scarcity futurism and the friction between utopian ideals and the gritty reality of frontier survival.

Mechanically, Lancer is famous for its “mud-and-lasers” approach, featuring a sharp divide between a relatively loose narrative-style of roleplaying and deep, grid-based tactical combat. Outside of the cockpit, the game uses a streamlined d20-plus-bonuses system to handle narrative downtime and pilot actions. Once the mechs are deployed, however, the game uses an extremely crunchy skirmish system ala miniatures games like Battletech. Players build their machines using a License Level (LL) system, mixing and matching parts from various manufacturers to create hyper-specialized builds that emphasize synergy and roles like Striker, Controller or Support.

Lancer was created by Miguel Lopez (a former Worldbuilding Desiger at Wizards of the Coast and now a narrative designer at video game studio Bungie) and artist Tom Parkinson-Morgan (also known online as Abbadon, the creator of the popular Kill Six Billion Demons webcomic). The game initially made waves with a successful Kickstarter in 2019 and was published under the imprint of Massif Press. In 2024, a second printing (also known as Lancer V2) was released by Dark Horse Comics which featured new cover artwork and some minor rules corrections. Since then, the line has expanded with several official supplements, including The Long Rim, No Room for a Wildflower, and the Karrakin Trade Baronies. There have also been a number of popular third-party tie-in products created with the Lancer license.

What is the Lancer: Pass the Torch campaign about?

Pass the Torch is a narrative campaign for Lancer V2 designed by Nick Hertzberg (aka Mogrit) that takes place 1,000 years after the events featured in the Lancer Core Book. The story kicks off with the outbreak of a deadly nanite swarm known as the Argent Plague that devours entire star systems. As the Union struggles to battle the plague, they also face a growing insurrection of zealots and a new power known as Annorum Empyrea.

Humanity’s only hope is a planet at the edge of frontier space known as Beacon, which is seemingly immune to the effects of the plague. Players are tasked with investigating Beacon and will have to make some hard choices, either siding with the Union or joining the rising forces of the Annorum Empyrea.

The content included in Pass the Torch is broken out as follows:

• 3 books, one for each Act, which take characters from License Level 0 to 12. These include new player and GM options, including new mechs, new NPCs and major story beats.
• 2 narrative paths with differing missions, battles and decisions, with players aligning with either the Union or the Annorum Empyrea.
• 21 missions, complete with detailed setting information, NPC and battle maps (which include zones, gridded and gridless variants). Notably, the battle maps will also be released completely free to the wider Lancer community.
• Player’s Guide, which includes new player options, setting info and advice on how to choose a narrative path.

Notably, the book also include a variety of commissioned artwork, which looks absolutely stunning and has been created by veteran illustrators including Petyon Gee and R.S. “Szkin” Koszka.

What are the backer options for Lancer: Pass the Torch?

The primary draw of the Kickstarter is the three Pass the Torch books (available separately or as a single collection) although there are a few extra perks included. Backer options are as follows:

• Traveler ($15 USD): Includes the Act 1 PDF at a special early-backer discount.
• Explorer ($50 USD): Includes all three books (Acts I, II and III) plus early access to playtest versions of mechs and missions.
• Farseer ($85 USD): Includes everything in the Explorer tier, plus the ability to design a character (name and personality) to be featured in the books.
• Lancer / Kavaliere ($140 USD): Includes a two-session prologue mission run by author Nick Hertzberg or a veteran GM from the original playtest group.
• Archon ($600 USD): Allows a backer to design a variant mech frame and its lore (will include commissioned art).

It’s also worth noting that 100% of funds will go to the artists working on the Kickstarter, which is incredibly rare for a TTRPG crowdfunder.

Why we’re excited about Lancer: Pass the Torch

• A completely new campaign: It’s rare to see a third-party project tackle a full LL0 to LL12 progression. With Pass the Torch you’re getting structured, multi-year campaign path that most GMs would have to meticulously homebrew.
• Ending the drought: While the Lancer community is incredibly active, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a narrative book of this scale, filling a significant gap in the current release schedule.
• A cool concept: The Argent Plague, the planet Beacon and the shift a millennium forward into the future feels like a great way to explore the Lancer universe without being strictly beholden to “official” lore canon.
• Impressive art and design: For a relatively small indie TTRPG, the artwork looks absolutely amazing and easily on par with the official Lancer books. The fact that all Kickstarter funding goes to these artists is also a huge win.

Final thoughts

Pass the Torch feels like a major release for the Lancer third-party scene, with a complete campaign that feels like it’s exploring new ground without stepping on the toes of official content. It’s also amazing to see designer Mogrit giving back to the community, with 100% of funding going to support the product’s artists, not to mention offering free maps to the Lancer community.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Pass the Torch in the days ahead. In the meantime, the campaign runs from now until May 21st on Kickstarter.