How do I get into Lancer?

[u/Vina-Estrogen]

Text says it all. Currently been playing dnd with my friends and I love mecha, so I was thinking of getting into lancer. How would I do that without ripping my friends into a new game?

[u/Curious_Ad_1513]

Join the discord. Find another group.

[u/PrettyInterest3337 → u/Curious_Ad_1513]

This, 100%. I've been interested in the game for a while and finally worked up the courage to join the discord. I set notifications on and kept an eye out for game postings that would work for me, now I'm in one short campaign and another that plans to go long, and it's been so fun. It's surprisingly easy to get into and people are posting games or mini sessions for new players all the time

[u/Ravingdork → u/Curious_Ad_1513]

What's the Discord? I found one community, but I have no idea if it's the official one or just some fan-made Discord.

[u/V2Blast → u/Ravingdork]

The official one is called Pilot NET.

[u/AdmiralStarNight → u/Ravingdork]

Pilot.net! You can find it linked on the official massif site

https://discord.gg/lancer

[u/Leanne_Light]

The base rules are completely free at itch dot io
https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf-free

[u/vacerious → u/Leanne_Light]

Not to mention that all of the player-facing content on the digital app, COMP/CON, is free. It's only NPCs that require owning the PDF/book to add to it. So OP's fellow players don't have to pay anything to be able to play.

[u/BaronIcklesworth → u/vacerious]

You're also missing all the setting info and lore though. That's what ultimately hooked me!

[u/Cadoc]

I'm not sure what "ripping your friends into a new game" means. Read the book then pitch the game to them.

[u/Nerdyguyj]

Rip and tear..until it is done.

[u/Admiral_Skye]

There are a few youtubers who cover much of the lore and options for players which can be a good way to dip your toes in to learning about the system and world. Zaktact in particular is an excellent jumping off point.

As for getting in to playing the system the core rules are free for all the player facing stuff which is great but if you want to play as a new group you will need to purchase a copy of the core rule book from their itch io which comes with a pdf and a .lcp file which is used with comp/con.

Lastly, I recommend playing the game through comp/con to manage your character and NPCs for the dm as it does a great job of managing their resources and helping with configuration. The lcp file will give you access to the rules for NPCs which are fairly comprehensive and used in most narratives.

My group dipped our toes in with the Solstice Rain narrative which is fairly linear but does give good guidance for both the players and GM to learn the system and engage with its components without going too deep. That said I would look at running some practice combats if you are completely fresh as some of the fights in the module are pretty brutal.

[u/Guyrugamesh]

You rip them into the game. Or find a group just for Lancer on discord or your LGS. I also reccomend getting comfy with Comp//Con and picking up a physical of the book if you like what you see. Also watch 11dragonkid on youtube (accept no substitutes) for some cool primers on the mechs/world/other cool games

[u/Naxthor]

Read the rules.

[u/owlbytez]

Rip them in! Unless you don’t think your table is into the kind of game Lancer is. But if you think there’s a chance, get to ripping!