Tactical Integration Technology with

Armoured Neotenium

“Training humanity's future protectors”

 A game about teens in a mecha academy.
Designed by Oscar Iglesias.

Text published under license Creative Commons.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Illustrated by Ignacio Ríos (kawaINDEX).

Layout by Vanessa García.
 T ABLE O F C O NT E NT S

INTRO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What is Academia TITÁN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What do you need to play? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What kind of games can be played? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
How to play Academia TITÁN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CHARACTERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Character types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Character sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Archetypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Character creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Character creation example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
GAME RULES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Game framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
World building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Group creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Introductory scenes (Opening) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
First Impressions Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Term scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Principal's Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Final scenes (Ending) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Advanced courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
GAME MASTERING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Setting up the game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Managing expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Shared creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
First game session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Term Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
The First Impressions Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
NPCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Principal's Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Karma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
The mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Higher Courses and Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Role playing games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Board games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
MEETING KAWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
A PIECE OF ADVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

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INTRO
“Its been several generations since we built the first Titan. Many pilots have learned to control, fight
and die in these Titans, giant robots that require five perfectly synchronized pilots to operate. Our
last defense.
The institution known as Academia TITÁN exists to find these young future pilots, teach them
everything they need and turn them into the best mecha pilots that mankind can provide.
We are very demanding with our students because Titan operation is equally demanding.
Please accept my most cordial welcome to the Academy.
You can find all the information about the academic course in the following pages.
Do not hesitate to ask your school contact any questions you might have, and remember to hand in
the forms correctly filled in at the Secretary's Office.“

What you have in your hands is the Academia TITÁN rulebook, which includes everything you need to
know in order to play adventures of high school teenagers who attend it to learn how to pilot Titans,
giant robots that must be controlled by five perfectly coordinated youngsters.
If this is your first role-playing game, congratulations, you have just entered a wonderful world of
stories where anything is possible. It is kind of like watching a movie, but you decide what the main
characters do and there’s no special effects budged limits. Sounds good, doesn't it? If you are already
familiar with role-playing games, we hope you will find in Academia TITÁN something similar to the
games you already know, but different enough to encourage you to try other playstyles.

What makes Academia TITÁN different from other role-playing games?

If you're a veteran roleplayer, or if you’ve just played before, you will probably notice Academia
TITÁN is slightly different from other games you might be familiar with. If you come from the worlds
of Dungeons & Dragons or games like Call of Cthulhu, Pathfinder or Star Wars (just to name a few),
you may be used to a very specific way of role-playing: pre-written adventures or scenarios created
by the Game Master, well-defined worlds, rules for action resolution...
Academia TITÁN lies closer to "indie" games like Apocalypse World, and is heavily inspired by
Japanese games such as Tenra Bansho Zero and Shinobigami.
This means, for instance, that the players' role will be more active, to the point that they’ll take part
on the creation of the game world. The rules will be more focused on guiding the narrative than on
solving specific actions. Also, the game will have a very well defined structure (strict, even), desig-
ned to create a very specific gaming experience.
Since you are already here, reading this, we’d urge you to to let it roll, take our gaming proposal and
try it out as designed. It might not be what you’re used to, but we’re hoping it will surprise you and
that you and your friends will have a good time playing in the Academy.

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WHAT IS ACADEMIA TITÁN?

Obviously enough, what you’re holding in your hands or reading from a screen is a book, be it a digital
or physical one, but a book nonetheless. Or, more specifically, is a how-to manual.
Just as a recipes book teaches you how to prepare delicious dishes, a rulebook like Academia TITÁN
teaches you how to play out entertaining adventures. And, just as there are many different styles of
cookbooks, Academia TITÁN is a rulebook for playing adventures of a very specific kind.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO PLAY?

This rulebook and some friends to enjoy the game with. We recommend a total of four or five players.
Other than this, it would also be good to schedule a few hours exclusively for the game, usually two to
four hours. Being able to have time to play without distractions helps you to better engage in the world
you are going to create and, therefore, to further enjoy the experience.
You will also need some six-sided dice or an app that generates random results.
Finally, and depending on whether you’ll be playing online or face-to-face, you might also need some
sheets of paper and writing implements (or at the very least something to take notes with, and on). It is
even better if you have copies of the character sheets and all the gaming aids included in this rulebook.

WHAT KIND OF GAMES CAN BE PLAYED?

One of the best things about Academia TITÁN is that the adventures you’ll be playing, the stories you’ll
be living, will be tailored to the preferences of the whole group. This means that you’re going to toss
aside the elements you don’t fancy and focus on whatever really interests and amuses you.
The rest of this rulebook is written under the assumption that you’ll be adhering to some very specific
constraints, to which you’ll later be adding all the elements you want to focus on. These constraints are:
the main characters of the story are young students in a high school, an institution wherein they will be
taught to fight riding combat artifacts called Titans, which require five pilots collaborating in harmony
to be properly controlled.
From this simple premise you and your friends will be creating a game world. Don't worry, it is much
easier than it looks, and we aim to give you the right tools to do just that.
Depending on your preferences, the resulting story could be a dramatic war tale set in a post-apocalyp-
tic world, focus on the technology that created the Titans, or it could be an absurd comedy set in a high
school where students merge into giant creatures to compete with other high schools. Whatever the
themes and tone would end up being, though, the relationships between the students will always play
a major role in the story.
We have envisioned the game as an anime series, one where each school year will be a different season
in which we will see specific moments. The most important ones.

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 AC AD EMI A T I T ÁN

HOW TO PLAY ACADEMIA TITÁN?

We will explain how to play in this very rulebook, but in short, we could say that:
One of the players will take the role of Principal, while the rest will be students.
▶ The group as a whole will define the game setting and the main premises of the game.
▶ The players will create their characters, first year students of the Academy.
▶ The Principal, following the guidelines in the rulebook, will help the players to create the story and
will guide them through the different scenes.
▶ Each term the players will narrate the most important scene for their student, and together they’ll
create a story that will reach its conclusion in the final scene of the course.
▶ Most of the time the players (Students and Principal) will be narrating the story. The players will
focus on their students’ actions, while the Principal will take care of everything else. The rules are
there to guide the structure of the narration and help you create a story, stepping in at specific
moments to add a touch of excitement or generate unexpected twists that bring even more inte-
rest to your story. This may include some dice rolls, but their resolution will always be straight-
forward and geared towards helping create your fiction.

CHARACTERS
"Our students are the Academy's greatest pride and joy.
Everything we do at Academia TITÁN is geared towards bringing out the best in our students and
turning them into the great Titan pilots we know they can be.
Their performance tomorrow relies on our work today."

In Academia TITÁN Players will take on the role of Academy students, starting in first course and advan-
cing each game session through the four courses until they graduate as Titan pilots.

Archetypes are inspired by the most common series tropes, taking into account the general ideas
on which the game is built on. If during world creation you have ventured too far away, it is pos-
sible that some of the Archetypes may have to be slightly tweaked to adapt them to your setting,
although the change will be mainly aesthetic so as to justify their attendance at the Academy, not
in terms of game rules.
E.g.- if you have defined your Academy as a place that trains government-created clones, 'the hei-
ress' or 'the spoiled brat' are two Archetypes based on family relationships that probably won't
make much sense in a setting of artificially created students. However, with a couple of tweaks we
can make them perfectly valid. 'The heiress' could be a clone created with the DNA of a war hero,
while 'the spoiled brat' could be a clone funded by some particularly influential corporation.

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Each Player will choose an Archetype, thus determining the type of student they will play and the way
they will face their time at the Academy. These Archetypes are represented in the game through a series
of in-game mechanics that will guide the players during the storytelling to help them recreate the type
of stories in which these characters are usually involved. All of this will be shown in a character sheet,
where all the characteristics and special rules of the Archetype will be displayed.
Let's take a look at each of these concepts one by one to get a better idea of what we are talking about.

CHARACTER TYPES
In order to ease character creation we have designed different Archetypes, the eight available are:
The heiress: You are a descendant of one of the main figures in the history of your world. One of the
greatest heroes of the conflict, or perhaps one of the worst villains the planet has ever known.
Great things are expected of you. The long shadow of the heroism (or infamy) of your legacy falls upon
you at all times. For better or worse, everyone expects you to follow in the footsteps of your predecessor.
The heiress will appeal to you if you are looking for a character with a very important background who
must struggle to discover their own path in life, moving away from the shadow of their legacy or accep-
ting their heritage fully.
The spoiled brat: Your family lives in the lap of luxury and everyone knows it: colleagues, teachers,
press...
You got everything you need - money, contacts, friendships in high places... - and whatever you want,
you can have it too. You just need to know the price.
The spoiled brat will appeal to you if you enjoy power and fame. You may want to play in "easy mode",
or you may want to explore the implications of being someone well known and with so much power at
your disposal.
The model student: You are a straight A+ student, perfectionist and methodical. You have worked very
hard to get here and you are not going to give up now. You believe in yourself and in your possibilities,
and not rarely that causes you problems with other students.
It is clear to everyone that you will bring great renown to the Academy in the future.
You will like The model student if you want to play an exceptional character in the academic front and
discover the problems that this dedication has caused them.
The Academy champion: You have always been a natural when it comes to sports. You know how to
move well and you have the strength, reflexes and endurance of a professional athlete.
Everyone thinks you're all brawn and no brains, but it's up to you to prove them wrong.
The Academy champion will appeal to you if you want to take a character with great physical potential.
Whether you want to stay in the comfort of the sport you're so good at, or try to go further and take on
new challenges is up to you.
The bookworm: You don't waste your time with parties, you don't seek to have a perfect body nor the
recognition of strangers. You are more at ease among books or with your artifacts than surrounded by
people.

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 AC AD EMI A T I T ÁN

Everyone underestimates you for your weird hobbies, your taciturn attitude and your secretiveness.
However, you know that the key to success lies not in recognition, but in a path of action that unfortu-
nately no one else seems to understand.
The bookworm will appeal to you if you enjoy intellectual or scheming characters. You will be able to
make a long-term plan to know how to solve the Academy's problems but keep in mind that the rela-
tionship-building difficulty will be ever-present.
The popular kid: Life is a party and you are the main star of any event you attend to.
Let others worry about getting good grades and sweating it out on the simulators. All that matters is
having fun and you know that everything else can be achieved with your silver tongue.
The popular kid will appeal to you if you want to explore the more social part of the Academy and be in
the spotlight everywhere you go.
The faithful friend: You don't like to be in the spotlight, yet you are a good listener and know what your
friends need.
Everyone around you trusts you, and your big heart will make you do whatever you can to help them.
The faithful friend will appeal to you if you want to be the glue that binds the group together.

Keep in mind that this role is usually seen more in supporting characters as their main function is
to support others, to help them shine.

The exchange student: You're from out of town. You are very different from the rest of your classmates.
Your appearance, your customs, the way you are... it's a tough obstacle that you'll have to overcome in
order to join in as one of your peers.
The exchange student will appeal to you if you want to explore diversity and the feeling of strangeness,
from its most comical perspective to its most dramatic effects.

When creating the students of Academia TITÁN we have not detailed at any time their gender, skin
color, age, sexual orientation, education level, native country, culture, etc... because these are not
important for the purposes of the rules. We only know that they are young, and even that can mean
whatever your gaming group thinks it means. Just create the characters you want, the way you want,
and play the game!
The exchange student is different in that they bring an element of strangeness to the table. What
this element is and how it affects the Academy is up to you to define. It can be as simple as that they
are a student from another country or dimension with strange customs that cause multiple comical
scenes and amusing confusions. However, you may also want to explore more touchy subjects such
as sexism or racism. Although the tone of Academia TITÁN is generally lighter, this is your game and
if you want to tell stories with that theme the rules will not prevent you from doing so. Just make
sure that the whole group is comfortable with the topics being discussed.

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CHARACTER SHEET
Each student is represented in the game by a character sheet that shows all the rules and mechanics
that affect them, so that all the information is available in one place and you don't have to go through
the manual every now and then.

ACADEMIC RECORD
Basic character data:
▶ Name of the student and/or alias by which they are known at the Academy.
▶ Age. Students at the Academy are the equivalent of high school students, which would be approxi-
mately 14 years of age for the first course.
▶ Grade of the course being played: 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th. By default all students start in 1st course.
▶ Academic year being played, usually expressed as start year - end year (e.g. 21-22).
▶ Color. Character's favorite color and the one with which they will usually be associated.
▶ Favorite food. As simple as indicating whether your character is more of a noodle or hamburger
person.
▶ Birthday. Birth date of the character, which also indicates their zodiac sign.
▶ Song. The theme song that will be played during your character's highlights.
As you can see none of these elements directly involves any rules, rather they are elements that add
flavor and color. Many of them are common tropes of the anime protagonists, but in any case they serve
to give a little more personality to your student.
If you're up for it, you can describe your characters in more detail, from their hair color and hairstyle,
the clothes they usually wear, their tone of voice, their particular accent, or that personal gesture they
unintentionally use from time to time. The more you describe your characters, the easier it will be for
you to play them, and the easier it will be for the rest of the group to imagine how they will act at any
given situation.

SKILLS
Represent the different capabilities of the Alumni in the Academy's main fields of interest. These are:
▶ Discipline (DIS) - represents the student's willpower, as well as their mastery of military tactics
and strategy.
▶ Training (TRA) - indicates the student's physical capabilities: strength, endurance, agility and gene-
ral athletic skills, as well as their ability to effectively use the titan's motion controls in combat.
▶ Knowledge (KNO) - a measure of the student's reasoning ability, memory and general culture.
▶ Relationships (REL) - the student's ability to interact with other students and their social skills.

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ACADEMIC RECORD

▶ STUDENT:

▶ BIRTHDAY:

▶ AGE: ▶ GRADE: ▶ YEAR:

▶ FOOD:

▶ SONG:

▶ COLOR:

SKILLS CURRICULAR ABILITIES

DISCIPLINE INFLUENCE BATTLE TACTICS

TARGETING SYSTEMS
TRAINING
COMBAT MANEUVERS
KNOWLEDGE
SENSORS AND COMMUNICATIONS
RELATIONSHIPS TITÁN ENGINEERING

PSYCH EVALUATION

ARCHETYPE:

MAIN TRAIT: I am

PAST TRAIT:

TRAIT :

HOBBY TRAIT: I like

LONGING TRAIT: I want

NEGATIVE TRAIT 1:

NEGATIVE TRAIT 2:

NEGATIVE TRAIT 3:

NEGATIVE TRAIT 4: Expelled from the academy

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These skills measure the student's talents and areas of interest, and will enable them to narrate scenes
of one type or another during the course.
During character creation each Player will fill in the Skills of their student according to the Archetype
guidelines. The possible values are indicated as grades and represent the following:
▶ A+ implies that the student can both start scenes of this type during the course, as well as help
other Students to start them.
▶ A indicates that the student can initiate scenes of this type.
▶ D indicates that the student can start scenes of this type as long as another character with a score
of A+ in this same Skill helps them.
▶ F implies that that student cannot initiate scenes of that type. Not even with help.
Each Archetype has different advantages and restrictions when it comes to filling in the Skills, which will
define the kind of scenes that the player will be able to narrate with their student. Make sure during
character creation that your character can perform the scenes that are most interesting for the idea you
have in mind.
On the other hand, the Skill score does not prevent the student from appearing in other students'
scenes. Any student can be invited to any type of scene.

INFLUENCE
Represents the student's ability to modify events at the Academy in theirs favor, either through access
to certain resources, recognition through fame, personal or family wealth, an influential position, or any
other reason.
All students begin each course with as many Influence points as indicated by their Archetype. This is
indicated in the Annual influence score.
This is the initial score in the resource, which can be spent throughout the course to improve the term
or relationship rolls (but not the mission rolls). At the beginning of each course students start with as
much Influence as their Annual influence score. Unspent Influence from one course cannot be carried
over to the next.

From the second course onwards, some students may begin with more
Influence due to the improvements they have obtained. If so, the starting
Influence will be obtained by adding the Influence points granted by the
improvements to the Annual influence.

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CURRICULAR ABILITIES
Throughout the course the students will learn a lot of things, about life and about the Titans, however,
for the purposes of the rules we will focus on their progress handling a Titan.
Controlling a Titan requires the simultaneous effort of five pilots. Each of them will be in charge of one
of the five available positions, and each of them requires a different ability to handle. These abilities
are:
▶ Battle tactics - the ability to efficiently manage the actions of the rest of the crew members in
order to achieve the best result in battle.
▶ Targeting systems - control over all Titan weapon systems.
▶ Combat maneuvers - ability to move the Titan in combat, dodging enemy attacks and positioning
it in the optimal points for attack.
▶ Sensors and communications - control of the "eyes and ears of the Titan".
▶ Titan engineering - the ability to optimize the Titan's efficiency and perform emergency repairs
during combat.
All player characters will be part of a group that is training to pilot a Titan, so each character will be
preparing to fill a different position in the Titan and therefore during the course will focus on rising a
distinct curricular ability.
Some Archetypes are highly focused for specific positions. E.g. The Academy Champion is a Training
Skill focused character and therefore will tend to specialize in the more physical curricular abilities like
Targeting Systems or Combat Maneuvers. Other characters, on the other hand, can fulfill with equal ease
any role in the team. It will be up to the players to decide the assignment of roles in the team and which
abilities each character will learn.
Teachers will be more demanding each year, so that the scores in curricular abilities of one course are
not kept for the following one. In fact, the first course you study Titan Engineering I, the second year
Titan Engineering II and so on, but for the sake of simplification we have used the same name for all
courses.

TRAITS
These are key descriptors of the character, their capabilities and circumstances. Short phrases that help
to complete the character's background, and that will give us an idea of their strengths as well as their
weaknesses. They serve mainly as a help to the interpretation, to know the most significant elements
related to the character. Together with the Skills will give us a clear idea of the main themes that we
want to deal with in the story for that student.
For the purpose of rules they can be used once per course to modify the Term Scene Rolls (neither
relationship rolls nor mission rolls).
Each student starts with five positive traits and one negative trait.

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As we will see during character creation, it is not required that players complete all these traits
from the very beginning in order to start playing, although it is recommended that they think of at
least a couple of them.

▶ A main trait according to the archetype in the format "I am...". This trait defines your student in
a single sentence, it would be their cover letter and character description. A Bookworm can be
defined as "I am the next Einstein" or "I am a mathematical genius".
▶ Four other positive traits:
▷ One related to the highest Skill score. In case you have several tied Skills, pick one of them and
create a trait accordingly. If you are a Model Student and your main Aptitude is Discipline you
may have a "Photographic Memory" or you may be "Undefeated in the battle simulator".
▷ One regarding your past. Something important from your student's past, either because they
learned from it and it has marked them, or because it is something characteristic even today.
You may be the "Heir to the Princedom of Latveria" or you may have been "Raised among
Yakuzas".
▷ One concerning your hobbies in the form "I like ...". What does your student enjoy doing in their
spare time?, how do they entertain themselves?, what do they relax with?
▷ One describing their longing, what the character desires. Written in the form "I want...".
▶ A negative trait. This can represent anything that might give the student problems: personality
traits, relationships, events in their past.
Students may acquire additional negative traits during their time at the Academy. These traits are
not permanent, but the 4th of them inevitably means the expulsion from the Academy.
They are similar to positive traits in that they can modify a student's term roll once per course,
although they will do so in a negative way and it will be up to the Principal to decide when to apply
them. Of course, like positive traits, they can also appear simply to color the story and inspire
interpretations.
A trait may become permanent as a result of complications during the course. Similarly, students
can get rid of (non-permanent) traits during the course.
Their status as temporary or permanent does not affect how they work during the course, they can
both be used by the Principal to cause problems and must be taken into account by the Players
as part of the story.
A student who acquires the trait "Injured" will be suffering from the after-effects of the wound
as long as they has the trait. The Principal may use it as an additional complication of the scenes
once during the course.
If the Player makes that trait permanent the injury has left a chronic problem in the student.
Whereas if instead of making it permanent the Player manages to remove it, this means the stu-
dent has recovered from their injury.

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When a trait is temporary, it is marked on the character's sheet with a single mark ( / ). These traits
can be removed in game when certain circumstances are met.
A permanent trait is marked on the student's sheet with a new mark ( X ), thus indicating that it can
no longer be removed in the usual way.

DIARY
The diary is a record of the student's relationships with other characters at the Academy.
Each player will keep track of their student's relationships with the rest of the player and non-player
characters ( PCs and NPCs). It is important to keep in mind that the relationships are asymmetrical and
each player notes what their student thinks of the others. The Principal will be in charge of keeping track
of what the NPCs think of the PCs.

For the sake of simplicity we will usually call PCs the player characters, those who are controlled
by the Players and who are also the protagonists of the story. Similarly, NPCs will be the non-pla-
yer characters, i.e. those who are not directly controlled by the Players but are controlled by the
Principal or by the Player who is currently narrating.

Special rules
Each Archetype booklet lists a number of special rules to keep in mind during the game. Most of them
allow the student to perform different actions or gain advantage in some way, although some of them
may also affect them negatively.
Use this space on the character's sheet to write down your student's special rules so that you don't have
to check the rulebook during the game.

Improvements
From second course onwards, students receive improvements, new special rules that are added to their
character sheet at the rate of one new improvement each course.
The total amount of available improvements per course will be:
▶ 1st course: no improvements.
▶ 2nd course: 1 improvement.
▶ 3rd course: 2 improvements in total.
▶ 4th course: 3 improvements in total.

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PERSONAL DIARY

▶ STUDENT:

PEOPLE I KNOW AT THE ACADEMY

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2
▶ NAME:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

▶ NAME:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

▶ NAME:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

▶ NAME:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

▶ NAME:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

▶ NAME:

: -2 : -1 :0 : +1 : +2

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ARCHETYPES
Now that we already know the different character types and the different mechanics for each student,
let's look at the specific rules for each Archetype.
We will begin by outlining the theme and general ideas of the character, followed by instructions on
how to fill out the character sheet and what special rules apply to the character. Finally, we will describe
all the improvements available to the character from the 2nd year onwards. Some improvements are
marked as "4th year exclusive" so they can only be selected at the beginning of the 4th year.

THE HEIRESS
Legacy; what does people expect from you, how do they see you, and how does it all affect you is the
main theme of The Heiress.
When you play as an Heiress you must clearly define what that legacy is: was your grandmother a
heroine in war?, was your uncle a traitor?, did your mother design the titans?,
did your ancestor bring peace to the world?
However, although you may have a general idea of how your stu-
dent feels about this heritage and what she wants to do about
it do not settle the issue, as exploring these feelings
will be the main theme of the character during her
time at the Academy, and it will not be until 4th course
that she will finally decide to accept or reject her
heritage.

Starting remarks
Choose your main Skill (DIS, KNO or TRA). You got A+ in
that Skill and D in the rest. Explain how your main Skill
relates to your legacy.
Annual Influence: 4 (Fame). You are the most famous
person in the Academy, whatever that entails for better
or worse.
Choose a curricular ability related to your main Skill,
it will be your family ability. Start every course with 1
point in that ability.

Special rules
I am not my father! - When you make a term roll for a scene other than your main Skill you may gain
advantage on that roll if you refuse to use influence and all external positive bonuses (from PCs and
NPCs). This must be stated before the roll and properly played out.
Family Contacts - You may spend Influence to start a scene related to a Skill rated D or F. You may also
spend your Influence to boost rolls of other team members as long as they have not used Influence and
it is a scene related to your main Skill.

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Improvements
□ A familiar face - When you first meet a character you can use your family's renown to your advantage.
If you spend 1 point of Influence when a character rolls on the first impressions table to find out what
they initially think of you, you can choose how to read the dice.
□ Calling in old debts - You can call in favors in high places before the end-of-course mission. This
allows you to spend Influence to improve mission rolls, maximum 1 point per roll to get a +1 on that roll.
Declare this before rolling the dice. You can use Influence points remaining from the current course,
or you can "borrow" points from the next course (except for the 4th course mission, of course). If you
borrow Influence points you will begin the next course with fewer Influence points, subtract as many
Influence points as you have spent on the mission.
□ Family Legacy (4th course exclusive) - You embrace your legacy for good and can roll with advantage
on the mission roll of your family ability. Unfortunately you will never be as famous as your familiar.
Decrease your maximum Influence by 1 point permanently.
□ Brand New Star (4th year exclusive) - You shine brightly away from your legacy. Choose a curricular
ability related to a different Skill other than your primary Skill. You may roll mission rolls for this ability
with advantage. Increases your maximum Influence by 1 point permanently.

The Heiress 4th grade improvement represents the final outcome of her family plot. You must
choose one of two available paths: The Family Legacy or Brand New Star, fully embracing your
legacy or rejecting it and taking a new path.
Use this course to define your new relationship with your family and how the world reacts to this
change.

THE SPOILED BRAT

Money, influence, contacts... power in its most generic form is the main theme of The Spoiled Brat.
When playing with a Spoiled Brat it's important to establish where that power comes from. Is your family
filthy rich?, where did the family get its fortune from?, do you have a lot of political influence?, how do
you maintain that influence?

Starting remarks
Divide A, A, A and D among your four Skills. You have received an exceptional education and are good
at almost anything you put yourself through, although team play is not your thing (that's why you don't
have any A+).
Annual Influence: 4 (select Money or Contacts). The source of your Influence will determine how you
can use it in game.

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Special rules
Papa! Papa! Papa! - You can spend as much Influence as you want
on term rolls. In addition, you may use your contacts for 1 point of
Influence to play a scene of the same Skill as the previous quarter or
to sneak into a scene you were not invited to without rolling.
Family Pride - When you get 10+ on a term roll after applying the
appropriate modifiers but without using Influence you get 1
point of Influence. This may cause you to exceed your initial
Influence score.
Delusions of grandeur - You cannot help other characters
start scenes even if you have an Aptitude of A+.
Selfish friends - As long as you have 0 Influence points you
acquire the negative trait "No money, no friends". This Trait
is temporary and will disappear as soon as you get some
Influence points, however it can be used by the Principal to
complicate your scenes, and it counts for the total of negative
Traits a student can have.

Improvements
□ □ Influential friends - The recognition of your family allows you to increase your annual Influence by
1 point. You start the course with 1 additional Influence point.

The two □ □ denotes that this Improvement can be purchased up to 2 times.

□ Clean up "little annoyances" - Thanks to your family's influence, you can remove one of your perma-
nent negative traits. Explain how this happens in game: do you go to therapy to control your temper?
Does that compromising report mysteriously disappear? Does that particular teacher who is so mad at
you decide to go on vacation indefinitely?
□ Direct Intervention - You can spend 2 Influence points to reroll any character's term roll. You choose
which of the two rolls will be used. Explain how your influence at the school modifies events in that way.
□ Money buys everything, everything! (4th grade exclusive) - You may spend Influence points during
the mission to improve any roll. Each point of Influence grants a +1 to the roll. You can only spend 1
Influence point per position but you can decide to spend it after seeing the result of the roll. Explain
how your family Influence applies to this combat situation: have you upgraded the Titan's engine? Has
"someone" bribed your opponent? Has someone been secretly tutoring you?
▶ THE MODEL STUDENT
As a model student you will have great mechanical advantages in the term rolls, and even be able to
help the team with extra bonuses in the final mission, but you will also have to face the problems that
your excellent results cause you. In addition, you are so focused on your career that your personal
relationships will inevitably suffer.

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Starting remarks
You start with DIS A+, KNO A , TRA D and REL F. Improve a Skill of your choice a step: REL to D, TRA to A
or KNO to A+.
Annual Influence: 1 (Fame). Your unparalleled academic record has earned you a reputation at the
Academy.

Special rules
Focused Training - When you are going to resolve a scene related to a
Skill in which you have a score of A+ or A you will roll with advantage.
However, if you fail a term roll (of any Skill) you get an additional
negative trait in addition to the usual penalty for failing a term roll.
You can gain a new temporary negative trait or turn a temporary
negative trait into a permanent one.
I don't have time for distractions - You roll with disad-
vantage in REL scenes and also cannot select the
Secondary Objective "improve relationship" in your
rolls.
As we practiced! - At the start of the end-of-
course mission you get as many "Advanced
Tactics" points as your level in the curricular
ability you have raised the most during this
course. Once for each mission roll you can spend 1
point of "Advanced Tactics" to give a +1 to that roll.
You can wait to see the result of the roll before deciding to
spend these points.
Excellent Student - To maintain a perfect record you may not acquire a new negative trait as a con-
sequence of a failed term roll. You may, however, turn one of your temporary negative traits into a
permanent one.
What a bad thing envy is - You start each course with an enmity rival (relationship -1). If your rival from
previous courses continues with a score of -1 or worse you keep that rival. If you have improved your
relationship with your rival the Principal will generate a new rival with a -1▼ relationship.

Improvements
□ □ A bright career - Your great achievements draw attention in high places and allow you to increase
your annual Influence by 1 point. Explain how you have attracted attention and how are you more
influential in the Academy.
□ □ Removing imperfections - You can erase one of your permanent negative traits. Explain how you
have accomplished this.
□ Coordinating training - If you get 10+ on your term roll you get an additional "Advanced Tactics" point
on this course's mission.

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□ Honors (4th course exclusive) - Choose a curricular ability. During the mission you can make the rolls
for that ability with advantage.

THE ACADEMY CHAMPION

You are a sports ace. You may have mastered one or you may
excel in whatever physical activity you embark on, either way
your achievements are always exceptional.
The Academy Champion is a character who specializes in
Training Skills and can help the whole group to succeed in
that field. However, he will need the help of his teammates
when it comes to tackling other kind of challenges.

Starting remarks
You begin with TRA A, DIS A , REL D and KNO
F . Upgrade one Skill of your choice a
step: TRA to A+, DIS to A+, REL to A
or KNO to D.
Annual Influence: 1 (Fame). You
are the star of the Academy
and your athletic achieve-
ments are well known to all.

Special rules
Born Gift - When you make a term Training roll and get 10+ you receive 1 point of Influence (Fame),
otherwise increase your success level one step.

This feature causes the Champion's potential results in the term Training rolls to be:
6- : partial success. You get what you wanted but with a problem.
7-9 : complete success. You get what you intended.
10+ : critical success. You get your objective, an additional secondary objective and gain 1 point
of Influence.

My Second Home - You can always join other characters' Training-type scenes without needing to be
invited or roll to sneak in, and you can spend your Influence to assist in term rolls in other students'
Training scenes if you participate in the scene. You can also help any character initiate Training scenes,
regardless of their Training score.

This rule ignores the requirement of having A+ to be able to serve as a helper, and allows charac-
ters with a score of F in Training to perform scenes of this type.

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Training day - You must spend 1 point of Influence to start scenes not related to the Training skill. In
addition, your passion for sports makes it difficult for you to maintain your friendships. When you get
a consequence as a result of a term roll you must deteriorate a positive relationship with a character
who’s present. It hurts what they think about you, but only if they have a value of +1 or higher. If no
character (PC or NPC) is present or has a positive opinion of you choose another consequence.

Improvements
□ □ Rising star - Your renown gives you great recognition, which allows you to increase your annual
Influence by 1. You get 1 additional Influence point at the beginning of each course.
□ Just a scratch - The Principal cannot use your negative traits to penalize you if they are related to your
physical performance. E.g. "limp", "dislocated shoulder". However, these traits are still representative of
your character and count towards your negative trait total.
□ Team Spirit - When you participate in a Training scene, yours or another student's, any character may
spend Influence to improve the term roll of the scene's protagonist. All of you may ignore the limit of 1
maximum point of Influence spent per roll.
□ Sports Ace (4th grade exclusive) - Select a curricular ability of Training. During the mission you can
roll for that ability with advantage.

THE BOOKWORM
You love books and computers, tinkering with circuits or spending all afternoon in the lab. It's what you
like and where you are at ease.
Most of the time you will be more focused on your personal project than on improving the curricular
abilities of the Academy, but this is because, for you, finishing your personal project is equivalent to
succeeding in the mission.
As a Bookworm you play with different, although compatible, objecti-
ves than the other students.

Starting remarks
Choose a set of scores for your Skills:
▶ KNO A+, DIS A , TRA D and REL F.
▶ KNO A+, DIS A , REL D and TRA F
You are a walking encyclopedia, but let's face
it, you have neglected personal relationships
and your physical performance can be greatly
improved.
Annual Influence: 0. You don't attract attention
at school, preferring to be left alone with your
experiments and research.

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Special rules
My Little Pet Project - During the course you can advance your Pet Project as if it were an additional
Primary or Secondary Objective option, you can even select it as both if you want to advance it two
steps with a 10+. If you are a guest or sneak into another player character's scene you may cancel any
positive bonuses for PC help (only positive bonuses and only those of player characters) to mark an
advance in your Pet Project.

You can only advance your Pet Project by canceling positive bonuses of PCs if at least a +1 bonus
from PCs was to be applied in the scene.

Your Pet Project is an experiment that needs 5 advances to be completed. When your Pet Project is
complete you may reveal what it is about and modify by one success level any roll of another PC (up or
down), or obtain a full success (10+) in one of your rolls.
▶ Pet Project: O O O O O

The Pet Project allows you to modify any roll, not only term rolls. That is, it can be used for first
impressions, friendship checks, or even the mission roll.
If you use it to modify results of other PCs you can declare it after the roll.
When you use it to get full success you must declare it before rolling. This option allows the
Bookworm to focus during the course on raising their Pet Project score instead of raising curricular
abilities, since if they get all 5 advancements they will automatically succeed in the mission roll.

You say "weirdo", I say "smarter than you" - You have trouble making friends. When another character
rolls first impression subtract 10 from any roll with a result of 50 or more. Also, if you help another
character to start a scene you give -1 to the appropriate term roll.

This -1 is in addition to any other modifier you might provide, for example for having a good or bad
relationship. It represents your inability to explain properly to others those things that are very
obvious to you.

Improvements
□ Science Scholarship - Your strange studies have not gone unnoticed. You can increase your annual
Influence (Fame or Contacts) by 1 point. Explain how you obtained this influence at the Academy.
□ Forbidden Knowledge - You can force the reroll of any roll: yours or another player's, term scene or
mission. Regardless of the outcome your strange methods earn you a negative trait (or make one you
already had permanent ). Explain what you did, how it affected the scene, and why you earned that trait.
□ Why limit myself to just one experiment? - When you finish your Pet Project you can start another
one. Each new Pet Project needs 1 less advancement than the previous one (minimum 1).
□ You finally do something useful! - Other characters can spend Influence in your scenes to advance
your Pet Project. For each point of Influence spent, your Pet Project advances one step. Explain how they
collaborate in your experiment using their Influence.

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□ Pet Project 2.0 (4th grade exclusive) - At the beginning of each quarter you get an advancement in
your Pet Project. This is independent of the progress you can obtain in term scenes.

THE POPULAR KID

You are the most recognizable face of the Academy and are always
surrounded by a crowd. In fact, you need people
around you since your special rule "Better with
friends" causes you to count NPC bonuses
based on the number of NPCs present ins-
tead of the relationship level.
Your recognition in the Academy allows
you to influence the way others see you,
and even manipulate the first impressions of
other characters.

Starting remarks
You start with Relationships A+. Distribute D, D and F among
the other three Skills.
Annual Influence: 3 (Fame). Everyone knows you, you have made
sure of it.

Special rules
The life and soul of the party - You can always start Relationship scenes even if you have previously
played one. You can always join other students' Relationship-type scenes without being invited or rolling
to sneak in. You can help other characters initiate Relationship scenes regardless of their Relationship
score.
I'm not bad, I've just been drawn that way - When another character who has just met you rolls in the
first impression matrix you can choose the order in which the dice are read. You may spend 1 point of
Influence to use this ability on NPC rolls when they meet another PC.
Better with friends - Calculate your NPC bonus as follows:
▶ Alone: -2.
▶ Small group, less than 5 people: -1.
▶ Large group, around 10 people: 0.
▶ One or more classes of students: +1
▶ More than half of the Academy: +2

This bonus replaces the bonus value for NPCs, both positive and negative modifiers. Use this value
only for term scene rolls in which The Popular Kid is the main character. It does not apply to other
scenes in which they may appear as a guest.

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 AC AD EMI A T I T ÁN

Improvements
□ Are you sure you don't know me? - You can use as much Influence as you want on term rolls. You are
not constrained to the maximum of 1 point of Influence per term roll.
□ □ Teen star - Your fame reaches well beyond the Academy. You may increase your annual Influence
by 1 point. Explain how you have achieved this renown.
□ Adore me - Other characters may use their Influence to improve your term rolls. They are not limited
to 1 single point of Influence.
□ Personal Entourage - When you are going to set a negative trait permanent as a result of a term roll,
choose an NPC with whom you have a relationship of at least +1 (what this NPC thinks of you). This NPC
acquires the trait instead of you: remove it from your sheet. Reduce the relationship with this NPC by
one rank. You can use this effect on player characters with the consent of the player who controls that
PC. In the case of PCs, there is no reduction in relationship score, although the target PC acquires the
negative trait - not permanent - and you remove it anyway.
□ Your support is my strength (4th course exclusive) - You may use the Synchronization value of the
team instead of your curricular ability for the mission roll. If at the start of the mission all other players
agree to spend either 1 point of Influence or roll with -1 on their mission rolls you may roll with advan-
tage on this mission.

THE FAITHFUL FRIEND

You are the team' s heart and thanks to your support the group
will have no problem getting Synchronization points. Your
Hearts Nexus skill is vital in this task. Remember that in
order to use it you must be present in the scenes of other
players, which will also allow you to use improvements
such as Lean on me or Speak to the heart to help other
PCs.
As a support character you excel at helping others, but you
will probably have trouble on your own scenes and raising your
curricular abilities.

Starting remarks
Distribute A, A, D and F among your four Skills.
Annual Influence: 0. You don't like to draw attention.
Begin with as many Support Points as there are player
characters, including yourself.

Support Points are a Faithful Friend's special resource that can be spent to activate their abilities.

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Special rules
Hearts Nexus - When helping in a scene you may move a Synchronization token regardless of the type
and objective of the scene, to do so spend 1 Support point and choose an effect:
▶ Give another PC one of your tokens.
▶ Get a token from another PC.

You may only use Hearts Nexus in scenes where you participate, not in your own scenes. You can
take tokens from other PCs and give out your own tokens, but you cannot give another PC tokens
from another PC you have previously taken a token from.

You've got a friend in me - You may help other PCs starting scenes as if you had A+ in that Skill. You may
not use this ability to help a character with an F.
I don't like to draw attention - When another character who has just met you rolls in the first impres-
sion matrix, move the result one row towards level 0. You don't usually generate extreme impressions,
quite the opposite.

That is the same as adding 10 to rolls below 30 and subtracting 10 from rolls above 46.

Improvements
□ □ □ The strength of the heart - You get 2 additional Support points at the beginning of each course.
□ Lean on me - You can spend your Support points to improve the term rolls of other PCs when you
appear in their scenes, a +1 for each Support point spent. You can use as many Support points as you
want per scene, but if you use Support points that roll cannot be improved by spending Influence from
other PCs. Give the spent Support tokens to the PC you helped. Other PCs can spend the Support tokens
you have given them when they take part in your scenes to improve your term rolls. They must spend 1
Influence point for each Support token they wish to use.

Lean on me allows you to use Support points as if they were Influence on other students' rolls, and
in turn allows other PCs to use their Influence to help you. Good deeds are rewarded!

□ Speak to the Heart - When any PC attempts to improve a relationship at the end of a scene in which
you are present, you may add +1 to that roll as long as you are not part of the relationship.
□ You get what you give (4th course exclusive) - At the start of the mission your teammates may spend
Influence or Support points you have given them to improve your curricular ability. You need as much
Influence and/or Support points as the number of PCs -1 to raise your skill by one point or roll with
advantage.

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E.g. in a game with 4 players you would need 3 points of Influence or Support for each +1 you want
to grant to the curricular ability of The faithful friend or to allow them to roll with advantage. It
would take 6 points to give them a +2 or a +1 and allow them to roll with advantage. Remember that
rolling with advantage is roughly equivalent to having +1.5 on the roll. This expenditure can be a
mix of Influence or Support points, it doesn't need to be all of the same type nor does it has to be
spent evenly among all the other characters.

THE EXCHANGE STUDENT

You embody the weird and different, you are the exoticism and the mystery.
As an Exchange Student you have the ability to bring different themes to the game table and study the
culture clash that it brings with the rest of the setting.
You can introduce magic in a scientific world, add psychic
powers to the setting, show different cultures of the same
world, or raise issues such as racism and sexism.
The main theme of the Exchange Student is the
weirdness produced by the different, and this is
going to be mainly shown as a cultural clash when
narrating the scenes.
Think about the other players before introducing
a troublesome theme.

Starting remarks
All your Skills begin at A. They don't pick
just anyone to come to the Academy, let
alone someone who turns out to be a bum.
Annual Influence: 0. Although you attract
attention and may be well known, this does
not bring you any influence at the Academy.
You start with 4 points of Strange(r) things.

Strange(r) things is a specific resource of the Exchange Student that they need to spend in order
to use their skills. It represents the weirdness of the Exchange Student, their exoticism and that
halo of mystery that other students find both appealing and incomprehensible. It could be magical
abilities, psychic powers, or simply the ways of a foreign place.

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Special rules
Bizarre ways - For each scene you must select a different target than the ones specific to the scene.
Reallocate the curricular abilities and Synchronization between the different Skills so that none of them
match and all Skills have at least one possible target.

The default distribution is:

▶ Discipline: Battle tactics.
▶ Training: Targeting systems or Combat maneuvers.
▶ Knowledge: Titan engineering or Sensors and communications.
▶ Relationships: Synchronization.
As an Exchange Student you may do things "slightly different", for example:
▶ Discipline: Targeting systems or Titan engineering.
▶ Training: Synchronization.
▶ Knowledge: Combat Maneuvers.
▶ Relationships: Battle tactics or Sensors and communications.
In this example no curricular ability matches its default Skill and all Skills have at least one curri-
cular ability.
This means that your Exchange Student relies on willpower and concentration for marksmanship
and titan repair, while to improve teamwork they prefers physical exercise. Relationships is some-
thing that in your land serves to understand the team and is applied in strategy or communica-
tions during the battle.
These changes serve mainly to change the tone of the scenes, so that the description and its
development are different from those of the other students.
It is not necessary to define which curricular ability corresponds to which Skill at the beginning
of the course.
You can carry over the relationship between curricular abilities and Skills from one year to the
next, which would represent that the rest of the students are getting familiar with the Exchange
Student and already know what to expect from them. Or, you can change the curricular abilities
and Skills match each year, which would indicate that other students are not able to understand
the Exchange Student's habits no matter how much time passes.

Can you help me out? - PCs who join your scenes will be able to use their Influence to improve your
term roll.
It's so hard to make friends - Even if you invite other characters into your scenes they must roll to sneak
in unless you spend 1 point of Strange(r) Things to ignore this effect during a scene or they have an
ability of their own that allows them to sneak in without rolling. When another character meets you for
the first time and rolls in the first impressions matrix the Principal decides in which order the dice are
read. You may spend 1 point of Strange(r) Things to cancel this effect for this roll.

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With your 4 starting points of Strange(r) Things you can ignore the effect of It's so hard to make
friends in all your scenes, so that no one has to roll to join your scenes, however this would leave
you with only 1 point to prevent the Principal from deciding how the dice are read every time
someone rolls in the first impressions matrix.

Improvements
□ How do you know that? - You may target characters who have not participated in the scene for your
effects, although you must know the character in question. This allows you to exchange Synchronization
markers or attempt to improve relationships with characters who are not present.
□ Fitting into the environment - You get 2 additional Strange(r) Things points.
□ I Have a Feeling - If you are present when another PC and an NPC meet for the first time, you may
spend 1 point of Strange(r) Things to choose for yourself how the roll reads. You may use this ability
after you see the result of the dice.
□ Back home we do it like this - You can help other PCs start scenes regardless of your Skill score, but
they will only be able to select your Objectives for the related Skill.

According to the previous example, if you help another PC to improve Combat Maneuvers, they will
have to do it with a Knowledge scene instead of Training, which would be the standard way to do it.
Likewise, if they want to improve Synchronization, they will have to do it through a Training scene,
which is the way you socialize, not with Relationships.
You help others as if you had A+ in your Skills, but the tone of the scenes will depend on how you
have associated Skills and curricular abilities or Synchronization.

□ Wisdom from my land (exclusive 4th course) - You may spend your Stranger() Things points to improve
your chances during the mission. For every 2 points spent you raise 1 ability point, up to a maximum
bonus of +3, or gain advantage on the roll.

CHARACTER CREATION
The most important part of creating your characters is sharing ideas with the rest of the group. You can
get very important feedback about your initial thoughts, things that you haven't thought of and that can
be very interesting, but also to make sure that you are all playing the same game and that you are all
"rowing" in the same direction.
The purpose of creating together the characters - and the game world - is to use the collective inte-
lligence, avoiding problems that could arise in the future, and taking advantage of this gathering to
enhance everyone's ideas. Brainstorming will help grow individual ideas, enhancing them with different
points of view, and ensuring that you build something to everyone's liking.
Focusing on character creation, brainstorming is not so much about creating a group of characters who
get along happily, as it is about creating a group that is compatible and whose story is interesting to all
of us. It is very different to discover in game that two characters are incompatible and have conflicting
positions, which can lead to tense moments and arguments between players, than to know from the

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beginning that these two characters will have irreconcilable positions but it is a conflict that the whole
group finds interesting and that both players want to play.
Even if you create your character at another time, for example because someone has joined the group
in the second course, it is advisable to put your ideas in common with other players before starting to
play. After all, the goal is to spend a few hours having fun telling stories together, and it is better to try
to make sure that we are all comfortable with the story we are telling. Yes, you can have a lot of fun
playing a story about screaming interpersonal conflicts or narrating a tearful melodrama as long as the
whole group is sure that this is the kind of game they want to play. If in doubt ask the rest of the table,
because even something as innocent as silly humor can be annoying if it's not what the other players
are looking for in the game. Therefore, in order not to interrupt the game continuously, all these issues
should be made clear during the creation of the world and characters.
Once we know that thinking about the character, its background, and sharing it with the rest of the group
is the most important part, let's move on to the mechanics. How to turn that idea in your head into a
student of Academia TITÁN.
You have a rough idea of the character in your head. Maybe it's a theme, a visual image of what you'd like
to play, or maybe the type of scenes you'd like to roleplay. Together you've defined the game world so that
you know what goes into your story and what's off limits. It's time to land all of that on the character sheet.
Start by picking an Archetype. This gives you a concrete gameplay framework within the different
options. An Archetype does not restrict you, but focuses your game experience. If you choose a Popular
Kid or a Faithful Friend, social relationships will be much more important to your character than com-
pared to playing with a Bookworm or a Model Student. It is not that the latter cannot have relationship
scenes, nor that they will be isolated from the rest of the characters, but the Popular Kid and the Faithful
Friend bring a specific theme and rules to exploit it in that precise direction.
You have a description of all the archetypes starting on page 16, and you can check out the specific
rules of each one.
Once the Archetype has been selected, it is time to start filling in the character sheet.
The Academic Record is a series of generic fields that provide color. Some players prefer to start with
them as they serve as a guide for the rest of the sheet, while others prefer to wait until everything is
filled in before getting into that kind of details. Take a look and fill in what you feel it’s clear, what will
help you to continue, and if you think of something better later you can change it.
Check your Archetype description on how to fill in the Skills and take the required choices. Remember
that the Skills give an idea of how good your character is in that field and will also determine what kind
of scenes will be the most frequent for your student during the game. Try to have A+ or A in those Skills
that catch your attention the most. Be careful with F Skills, as you won't be able to start scenes of that
type.
Your Archetype will also state how many Influence points you will have each year and their type. This is
an indicator of your student's ability to meddle in what goes on at the Academy.
You don't have to fill in the Curricular Abilities, in fact that is going to be one of your goals during the
course. Your Skills show which Curricular Abilities will be easier for you to raise, which also gives you
an idea of what your position on the Titan will be during training and missions. It is important that you
allocate your positions on the Titan so that you do not step on each other’s toes, as there is only one
position of each type and all of them must be filled.

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Based on what you have thought about your character, what you have discussed with the rest of the
group and the world you have created, it is time to create your student's Traits. You don't have to have
all of them before the game, but you should have at least a couple of them before you start playing. You
can see more about Traits on page 12.
The negative Trait is mandatory.
Look for your Archetype's special rules and copy them into the corresponding section of the sheet. Be
aware of these rules as they can considerably change the way you play or even how you interact with
other students. Also, some special rules impose handicaps on students that cannot be ignored.
In addition to your sheet you will need a diary to keep track of your friendships at the Academy.
Start writing down the names of the other player characters ( PCs), and when you meet them for the first
time you can start writing notes about that relationship.
Review everything you have filled in, change anything that doesn't suit you and fill in anything you
would have left for later.
You are now ready to enter the Academy.

CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE

Alejandro is about to play a game of Academia TITÁN with his friends. They have already defined the
main points of the setting and now they are going to start sketching the characters. Alejandro wants to
play an intellectual character, not too physical, related to technology.
Reviewing the Archetypes, the Model Student and the Bookworm caught his attention. Although the
Model Student seems to be a very powerful character he does not want to be aware of a rival for the
whole game; in addition, reviewing the Bookworm, his Pet Project looks like something he can easily
justify from a technological perspective.
He notes down Bookworm as Archetype and reviews the basic fields of the curriculum.
▶ Name: A.L. A nickname seems appropriate for a geek.
▶ Age: 12. Due to his great intelligence, A.L. has entered the Academy at a younger age than his
classmates.
▶ Grade: 1st. Easy one.
▶ Academic year: '41-'42. Together all the players have decided that they will play in the near future.
▶ Color: monochrome monitor green. He had not thought of any color, but looking for something
related to computers, the green of the first monitors seems appropriate as a color for A. L.
▶ Favorite food: chips. It is beginning to look like A.L. doesn't care too much about his physical shape.
▶ Birthday: February 12th. Aquarius, an air sign and the one related to information, hence it seems
appropriate.
▶ Song: although using True Survivor as a theme song is very tempting Alejandro decides that during
A.L.'s scenes he will play Daft Punk music tracks, without lyrics. Though he will leave True Survivor
for some particularly epic scenes.

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Next step is Skills. As indicated by the Archetype he must choose between two different sets of Aptitudes:
KNO A+, DIS A, TRA D and REL F or KNO A+, DIS A, REL D and TRA F.
A.L. is going to have Knowledge A+ and Discipline A. A focused and intelligent student, as he had envisio-
ned. Of the two remaining Skills Alejandro prefers to have the chance to do the occasional social scene,
although he will need help, and he doesn't want the character to be completely antisocial either so he
assigns D to Relationships and leaves his Training at F.
His annual Influence starts at 0. It doesn't seem that being a little brainiac who has entered the Academy
before the others has attracted much attention.
At this point he doesn't have to allocate any points in curricular abilities, but seeing as his highest
Aptitude is Knowledge that surely implies that he will focus on either Sensors and Communications or
Titan Engineering, i.e. Titan Navigator or Mechanic. Perfect!. Both fit his vision of the character. We'll have
to see what the other students in the group will want to do on the Titan.
Time to move on the Traits.
As the main Trait "I'm a wunderkind" rounds up everything he's been thinking about the character so
far, he writes it down in his sheet.
At the moment he can't think of any origin Trait, so he leaves it blank for later.
Next is the Trait related to the highest scoring Skill, in this case Knowledge. Taking the relationship with
technology a step further, he asks the rest of the table if "Tech Empathy" seems appropriate, defining it
as the ability to intuitively understand machines and electronic components. The subject of powers had
not come up in the creation of the setting, but they all find it interesting that there could be psionics
and students with innate or latent abilities. For now they do not define the origin of the powers, but the
Principal notes it down in their game notes to make sure it is a topic that comes up later on.
The Hobby Trait seems obvious: "I like video games."
And for the Longing Trait he prefers to leave it blank since he thinks that A.L. doesn't make too many
long term plans.
Time to think of a negative trait. He wants to avoid physical things like " Skinny" or "Sickly", and he
doesn't feel like going for the antisocial part either... One of the players proposes " Absent-minded",
meaning that A.L. sometimes gets lost in his world and focuses so much on his own things that he
forgets everything going on around him and time flies by. It seems like a good idea, according to the
character, so Alejandro writes it down in his sheet.
Now all that remains is to review the special rules of the Archetype and prepare the diary sheet for the
game.
With this we have A.L. ready for his first day at the Academy.

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GAME RULES
“We take the education of our students very seriously, therefore the ethics and protocols of this
institution must be observed.
We are demanding on our students because the world will be demanding on them.”

With the characters created in the previous chapter, it's time to start playing.
In this chapter we are going to show you how a game of Academia TITÁN is structured, the different
game phases, what you will do in each one of them, and what rules use to solve the different situations
that will arise in those game phases.

GAME FRAMEWORK
Academia TITÁN is a game with a specific narrative framework. This implies that game sessions will
follow a format, open in its contents but fixed in its structure.
We can outline the structure of a game as follows:
▶ [Opening] Introductory scenes / Summer.
▶ Academic course.
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▷ Round of scenes of the first term (one per player).
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▷ Round of scenes of the second term (one per player).
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▷ Round of scenes of the third term (one per player).
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▶ End of course mission.
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▶ [Ending] Final Scenes.

Fear not, this is not as rigid or complicated as it seems. Quite the opposite, following this fra-
mework will make the game and time management much easier for you.

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As a general idea, we assume that a game session lasts roughly four hours, and in each game session
you will play a full course. If your group meets to play more or less hours, or if your game pace is diffe-
rent, you will have to adjust this structure slightly. The easiest thing to do is advance as far as you can
and continue where you left off the next day, or, when you finish one course, start the next. It is not
necessary to force this structure to your playing time, i.e. you do not have to play a course every day.
However, it is necessary to follow the structure of the game.
As you may have seen, the number of scenes depends on the number of players. This is one of the
reasons why we recommend playing with 3 or 4 students (and Principal). Although it would be possible
to play with more students, the number of scenes would increase, diluting the attention and the focus
too much.

WORLD BUILDING
The first game session is slightly different from the others since it is required to create the game world
in which the characters are going to live.

If you want to jump right in and start playing, or if creating a setting seems too complex for you,
you can use some of the settings already designed or even play in the world of your favorite series.

Although these rules assume some concepts of the setting, the game world will be defined by all of you,
thus ensuring the game is played in a setting to the liking of the whole group.
Among the things that are taken for granted and must always be found regardless of the setting:
▶ There are giant combat artifacts called Titans, which require five synchronized pilots to control.
▶ Academia TITÁN is the study center that trains these pilots during their adolescence.
Titans' origin, their look and functionality, the number of academies or the access criteria are all ele-
ments of the setting that will be defined by the players. This allows each game group to create its own,
different and unique setting.
The tone of the game can be very varied, from absurd comedy to a sinister war drama. However, the
relationships between the students will always play an important role in the story.
We have envisioned the game as an anime series, where each game session is a course equivalent to a
full season of the series, from which we will see specific moments. The most important ones for each
of the main students.
Before starting to play, on the first day the group will create the game world where the series will take
place. In order to ease this process and assist creativity, we have divided it into several steps. Our goal
is that all players contribute, trying to encourage all participants to express their ideas, so that even if
not all of them will be used or not directly, eventually all participants will have created a game world in
which they all want to play.

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THE ENEMY
Against what/who are the Academy students being prepared?
The enemy has to be a match for the Titans, but it doesn't necessarily have to be another giant creature/
mecha. Knowing what you are fighting against will help you define the background of the world in which
the students are going to live.
Once the threat type is defined, shape it and try to describe it visually.
Some examples you may want to consider:
o Other Academies
o Other countries or factions
o Aliens or threats from another dimension

Together we have decided to play in a campaign setting we are going to name Demonic Rim. A world
we define as a version of Pacific Rim where the threat are giant demons similar to those appearing
in Stranger Things.
We use references known by all participants to ease the immersion. It will be much easier to picture
scenes from the series if we use familiar references.

THE ACADEMY
Take a few moments to think about the Academy. Where is it located? Maybe it's a special place that’s
hard to reach, or perhaps the surrounding landscape is the most interesting part. How are the students
recruited?, are there any special traits that define the students and make them fit to pilot the titans?
Or, if you want to dwell on more "trivial" details you might want to define what the Academy uniform
looks like.
Keep in mind that the Academy is the main scenario for your story, so you should all be clear about
how it looks like and what to expect from it. This will allow you to create the environment in which the
students' adventures will be told, and will certainly help to create the characters' backgrounds.

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You can also sketch details about the surroundings of the Academy, such as the political situation or
technology level.

The version of Academia TITÁN that we are going to find in Demonic Rim is a global institution
where students from all over the planet and the colonies of humanity are trained. There are even
students from other dimensions.
The headquarters of the Academy are located on a floating island over the Atlantic Ocean, accessi-
ble from portals on each country's branches.

THE TITANS
Remember Titans require a full group of five pilots in order to be operated. With this in mind, what do
Titans look like?, are they giant robots or something more organic? What weapons do they use? Classic
laser weapons, missiles and energy swords, or do our Titans have more esoteric capabilities? And, how
do pilots synchronize?, do they just sit in a cockpit like a Star Trek command bridge?, or are they submer-
ged in a fluid that links their minds?, maybe they dump their consciousness into a virtual environment?
Establishing what the Titans look like and how they operate helps to set up the scenes that occur during
the course.

Thinking about the Titans of Demonic Rim we decided to go for the classic mecha, giant robots. But
instead of something as squared as Gundam we want it to look a little more organic in the line of
Evangelion.
As for the students, although they all share a cockpit, each position is connected in a different and
special way. The pilot hangs in a suit of armor that makes the Titan replicate their movements. The
gunner is in a sphere at his side, creating solid light weapons around their body and aiming at ene-
mies that are displayed inside the sphere. The mechanic moves throughout the mecha in a capsule
through the titan's "circulatory system" so they can perform repairs where needed. The navigator
is seated in an armchair that transfers their consciousness to a virtual surface where they can fly
over the combat terrain and better understand everything that is happening. And, the team leader
receives all the information from their teammates in the center of the cockpit, getting a global view
and coordinating all their efforts.

Some questions can be left unanswered and be a mystery to be solved during the game, although the
main points of the setting should be outlined (the enemy, the Academy and the titans).
Anyway, don't be afraid to retrace your steps and tweak some points if a better or more attractive idea
comes up. It's your setting, make sure it's as cool as possible.

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GROUP CREATION
Once the setting is outlined, it's time to create the group of characters. Each player will create a student
following the steps in the character creation section, these students will be the characters that each
player will control during the game. The Principal does not have to create any character in a compre-
hensive way although they will be responsible for managing all the NPCs that appear during the game.
The PCs are students of the Academy who want to graduate in order to become Titan pilots, and they
will be the main characters of the story that you are going to create together.
It's important to create all the characters at the same time and after sketching the setting. Bringing a
character already created before the game can make it not fit with the setting or with the other characters.
Character creation is done simultaneously among all the Players, and although each player decides
about their own character, the whole group collaborates contributing with ideas since the final goal is
to create a group of characters that are interesting for everyone.
It is not required that all characters like each other, in fact it will be usual that they do not even know
each other initially. However, designing characters with obvious conflicts should be agreed upon by the
players and they should only go ahead if both parties consider it interesting to play that conflict during
the game, specially for sensitive issues.
All PCs will be part of an Instruction group within the Academy. Although there can be more NPCs in
the same course or class, all the students will be divided into groups and assigned to different Titans,
while all the PCs will be assigned to the same Titan together with one or more NPCs until reaching the
required minimum of five pilots.
Once the character sheets have been filled in we will have finished with this preliminary part of the
game. Creating the setting is a step done only on the first day of the game, although later, during the
game, you can continue to expand and enrich it. Similarly, the creation of characters is only done during
the first session, and, extraordinarily, when a new player joins the group or when it is necessary to
replace a casualty.

INTRODUCTORY SCENES (OPENING)

Once the setting has been defined and the characters have been created, the game itself will begin,
starting with the introductory scenes where each player introduces their character. This corresponds to
the Opening of the series and we will treat it in a similar way.
Each player will take turns introducing their character to the group as follows:
Assign a song if you haven't already done so. Even better if you can play it in the background while you
introduce your character.
Depict scenes from your character's past as if it were a photo slideshow while the intro music plays.
These will show bits and pieces of their past, their hobbies, their desires, their personality..., and will
end with the character arriving at the Academy.
After each scene the rest of the players write down in their Diary the name of the character shown and by
means of the First Impressions Matrix they establish their initial thoughts about the character introduced.
Then the next student is presented or, if there are no more characters to be introduced, the course
scenes begin.

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATRIX

1 2 3 4 5 6

Hate at first Dark Utter Emotional

10 Fear Antagonist
sight premonition rejection turmoil

Chaos / Distraction/ Former Unworthy

20 Repulse Distrust
Corruption Annoyance companions rival *

30 Uneasiness Déjà vu Familiar Mistrust Acquaintance Rivalry *

40 Calmness Déjà vu Familiar Reliability Acquaintance Rivalry *

Purity / Former
50 Admiration Pupil Loyalty Worthy rival *
Innocence companions

Inspiring Absolute Love at first

60 My muse Teacher Soul mate
presence loyalty sight

Every time that two main characters meet for the first time we will check the First Impressions Matrix to
find out what is their initial opinion of each other, what is the first thing they think of the other character
when they meet each other.
The outcome of the First Impressions Matrix shows what the character for whom the roll is being made
thinks of the other character, but this relationship is not symmetrical, so the second character does not
necessarily think the same of the first one.
In addition to the initial feeling, the roll will provide us with an initial value for the relationship, from the
point of view of the character who has rolled. Again, this value does not have to be the same for both
characters, and can be modified in the future. For better or for worse.

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All player characters are always considered main characters, but not all NPCs have to be, only those
relevant to the story are considered main characters. This prevents us from consulting the First
Impressions Matrix for each new NPC that appears, for each and every one of the students of the
Academy...

To know the result of the first impression, roll two six-sided dice, stating before rolling which will be the
units and which will be the tens. This is usually called a sixty-six-sided die or d66. Then read the result
in the following table where the tens indicate the row and the units the column.
The text gives us a brief description of that first impression, which will be explained by the player who
controls that character and will have an impact on the story from that moment on. As usual, other
players may contribute with ideas.
The position in the chart gives us the initial score of the relationship from the point of view of the
student for whom it has been rolled.
The possible values that the relationships may have in the diary are:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

▶ -2 (red), only with the result 11.

▶ -1▼ (orange), any result with 1 in the tens except 11.
▶ -1▲ (orange), any result with 2 in the tens.
▶ 0▼ (white), any result with 3 in the tens.
▶ 0▲ (white), any result with 4 in the tens.
▶ +1▼ (yellow), any result with 5 in the tens.
▶ +1▲ (yellow), any result with 6 in the tens except 66.
▶ +2 (green), only with the result 66.
A relationship cannot deteriorate below -2 or improve above +2.
-1, 0 and +1 are divided into two sections, one slightly better and one slightly worse. In either case the
score is considered to be as indicated by the number, but may be closer to improving or worsening. A
relationship at +1 indicates that the character holds the subject of the relationship in high regard, and
will apply this +1 modifier where applicable, regardless of whether it is +1▼ or +1▲. However, +1▼ is one
step away from going to 0, while a deteriorating relationship at +1▲ will go to +1▼ while still retaining
the +1 bonus.
These scores should be evaluated in the following way:
▶ -2 (red), the character is openly hostile.
▶ -1 (orange), the character is distrustful and will generally avoid or try to hinder the other character.

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▶ 0 (white), the character does not have a clearly formed opinion and will not help or harm the other
character if they has nothing to gain in return.
▶ +1 (yellow), the character will be friendly and helpful.
▶ +2 (green), the character is a trusted ally and will try to help as much as possible.
For NPCs the most important thing is the value of the relationship, although the type of relationship
matters for how they will act in the scenes.
Rivalries are special relationships in that a rival will try to appear whenever they can in the scenes of
their target, either to help them, annoy them, or simply in order to compete.
▶ First impressions
11 - Hate at first sight (initial score: -2)
This person drives you crazy, you can't stand them, and you are certain that they are a bad person
who is not going to bring anything good to the Academy. You have absolutely nothing in common
and you want nothing to do with them.
12 - Dark premonition (initial score: -1▼)
The first time you saw them you had a vision: something horrible is about to happen and it's all
going to be their fault. Describe your vision and how you think it is related to this person.
13 - Utter rejection (initial score: -1▼)
You can't explain it rationally and maybe you don't even have any real reasons, but something
about this person causes you to deeply dislike them and you want to avoid them at all costs.
14 - Emotional turmoil (initial score: -1▼)
Every time you see them, your senses are clouded and your heart races. You feel joy, sorrow,
sadness, anger, uneasiness and anguish, you want to laugh, scream, run away and cry, ... all at
the same time. You believe that if you are around this person for too long you will not be able to
control your emotions.
15 - Fear (initial score: -1▼)
You feel like a fawn locked in a cage with a tiger. This person terrifies you just by their presence.
16 - Antagonist (initial score: -1▼)
This person represents the opposite of what you stand for. You have to prove to them and to the
whole Academy that you are better.
21 - Repulse (initial score: -1▲)
You can't stand being around this person. The way they talk, the way they dress, or their mere
presence makes you wish they would stay away from you.
22 - Chaos/Corruption (initial score: -1▲)
This person brings chaos wherever they goes and destroys everything they touch.
23 - Distraction/Annoyance (initial score: -1▲)
Just being in their presence makes you upset and unable to concentrate.
24 - Distrust (initial score: -1▲)
Every time you are in front of this person it's like the temperature drops. You get goose bumps and
become alert. They're shady. They're up to something, and it's not good.

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25 - Former companions (initial score: -1▲)

You know this person from before. You collaborated and it didn't work out. Explain how you know
each other, how it ended badly, and what you blame them for.
26 - Unworthy rival * (initial score: -1▲)
You see this person as a rival in something: a sport, a subject, a skill... Someone you must defeat
at any cost since you are clearly superior.
31 - Uneasiness (initial score: 0▼)
Something about this person sets you on alert. You don't feel comfortable in their presence, nei-
ther have you any reason to be.
32 - Déjà vu (initial score: 0▼)
You feel as if you have met this person before. You can't remember where or when, but you have
the feeling that it wasn't good. What trait or attitude gives you this feeling?
33 - Familiar (initial score: 0▼)
This person seems awfully familiar and reminds you of someone you know very well. Or, alterna-
tively, you may actually be related.
Explain who they remind you of and why, or what your relationship is.
34 - Mistrust (initial score: 0▼)
There is something about this person that makes you think they are not trustworthy.
35 - Acquaintance (initial score: 0▼)
You have met before, but they didn't leave a great impression on you. Neither good nor bad,
nothing remarkable. How do you know each other?
36 - Rivalry * (initial score: 0▼)
You see this person as a rival to beat. Whenever you can try to measure yourself against them,
you will try.
41 - Calmness (initial score: 0▲)
There is something about this person that makes you feel at peace. You don't particularly like
them, but you are comfortable around them.
42 - Déjà vu (initial score: 0▲)
You have the feeling that you have met this person before. You can't remember where or when,
but something gives you the feeling that it was a good thing. What trait or attitude gives you this
feeling?
43 - Familiar (initial score: 0▲)
This person seems awfully familiar and reminds you of someone you know very well. Alternatively
you may actually be related.
Explain who they remind you of and why, or what your relationship is.
44 - Reliability (initial score: 0▲)
There is something about this person that makes you think they can be trusted.
45 - Acquaintance (initial score: 0▲)
You have met before, but they didn't make a great impression on you. Neither good nor bad,
nothing remarkable. How do you know each other?

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46 - Rivalry * (initial score: 0▲)

You see this person as a rival to beat. Whenever you have the opportunity to measure yourself
against them you will try.
51 - Admiration (initial score: +1▼)
You like to be close to this person. The way they talk, the way they dress, or their mere presence
makes you want to be near them.
52 - Purity/Innocence (initial score: +1▼)
You feel that this person could never do anything wrong.
53 - Pupil (initial score: +1▼)
This person is someone you could teach some things and would feel good about teaching them.
54 - Loyalty (initial rating: +1▼)
This person inspires trust in spades and you wouldn't think of betraying that trust.
55 - Former companions (initial score: +1▼)
You know this person from before. You collaborated and have a good memory of the experience.
Explain how you know each other and why you hold them in high esteem.
56 - Worthy rival * (initial score: +1▼)
Competing with this person inspires you to be better. They are someone you respect and this
rivalry brings out the best in you.
61 - Inspiring presence (initial score: +1▲)
This person guides others by their dazzling example.
62 - My muse (initial score: +1▲)
Being in this person's presence inspires you, sparks your creativity and fills you with energy.
63 - Teacher (initial score: +1▲)
You think this person has a lot to teach you and you would like to learn from them.
64 - Absolute loyalty (initial score: +1▲)
You feel such a sense of loyalty that you think you could do anything for this person.
65 - Soul mate (initial score: +1▲)
You feel an almost supernatural connection with this person.
66 - Love at first sight (initial score: +2)
There is no doubt in your mind: it's love.
Remember to explain this first impression from your character's point of view and note the initial value
of the relationship in the journal.
Later on the relationship will change in value and this will have implications on the story. The first
impression is only a narrative starting point and an initial numerical value, but, like any relationship,
from here on the relationship is alive and will change.

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Raquel, Alejandro, Rubén and Rebeca have finished designing their characters and it is time to
introduce them to the rest of the group.
Raquel is the first to introduce Bokushi Reiko, a model student who has arrived at the Academy with
spectacular grades. When she finishes her presentation the rest of the players must roll on the First
Impressions Matrix to see what their initial feelings about Reiko are.
Alejandro rolls for A.L., his character, and gets a 55 "Former companions". He explains how A.L.
met Reiko at a summer course for promising young students and that he was delighted to work
in a group with her. Alejandro notes in A.L.'s diary Reiko's name, indicating that they were former
classmates, and marks the initial score of their relationship: +1▼. As Raquel has been the first to
introduce her character it is not yet known what Reiko thinks of A.L., since although it seems that
A.L. has a good impression of Reiko, the relationships are not symmetrical and we will have to
wait for Raquel to roll in the First Impressions Matrix for Reiko to know what her student thinks of
Alejandro's student.

TERM SCENES
At the beginning of the first term the players choose who starts narrating their student's term scene.
If the players do not agree, the character with the highest Discipline, randomly selected from those
students tied for the highest Skill value, will start. From this point on, if the players do not agree on
who will be the next main character, the player who narrated the previous scene will choose who will
be the main character of the next scene from among the students who have not yet played a scene
this term.
A term scene is the most important moment of the term for the protagonist student.

PLANNING A TERM SCENE

The player of the main character decides the type of scene to be narrated by choosing a Skill
(Discipline, Knowledge, Training or Relationships) in which their student has a value of A or A+. If they
wish to start a scene related to a Skill in which their student has a value of D they will need another
PC with that Skill at A+ to assist them. A student cannot start scenes associated with a Skill in which
they have an F.
Each student must select a different type of scene than the type of scene selected by that same student
in the previous term of that course. That is, the first term they can select any type of scene, the second
term they cannot repeat the same type as the first term, and the third term they cannot repeat the type
of scene selected in the second term.
The player also sets an Objective: What their student wishes to achieve through the scene.
▶ Raise a Curricular Ability.
Curricular Abilities are linked to specific Skills and can only be the target of certain scenes.
If it is a Discipline scene you can raise the skill "Battle Tactics".

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In a Knowledge scene you will be able to raise the skill "Sensors and communications" or "Titan
engineering".
You will need a Training scene to upgrade the ability "Combat Maneuvers" or "Targeting Systems".
▶ Improve the team's Synchronization.
This can only be done in Relationship scenes.
▶ Remove a negative Trait of their own or from another PC.
If you wish to remove a negative Trait from your student or another student you can use your scene
to try to do it. Obviously the Trait cannot have become permanent.
The scene will not be associated to any specific type of Skill, which allows you to always make
scenes to remove Traits, and allows the student's next scene to be of any type. The narration of the
scene has to be related to the removal of the Trait.
▶ Solve a Goal.
Starting in second year, students will begin to have annual Goals. Solving these Goals may be the
objective of a term scene.
You can attempt to solve Goals with any type of scene, but the type of scene selected will affect
the narrative of the scene.
▶ Teach a Curricular Ability to another PC.
Any character may help another student improve a Curricular Ability. A scene of the type associa-
ted with the Curricular Ability to be taught must be performed, and the teacher must have a higher
score in the corresponding Skill than the student to be taught.

Having established the type of scene and the objective, it is time to determine a scenario. The player
describes the place where the scene will take place.
Some examples according to the Skill:
▶ Discipline - the study hall, a simulator practice, some tactical games, a duel of wills...
▶ Training - the academy gym, a soccer match in zero gravity, a sports day, a kendo competition, a
gymkhana, ...
▶ Knowledge - the academy library, a group study session, a laboratory practice on radio signal
interpretation, a theoretical class on engine maintenance, ...
▶ Relationships - a party on campus, a dinner outside the Academy, a trip to the mountains...
Finally, the main student's player indicates which other characters are included in the scene: other
player characters, other Academy students, faculty staff, civilians, guest characters, adults...
Remember that if the student is starting a scene of a type in which they has a Skill score of D they must
include the character who is helping them to start the scene (who must have A+ in that Skill).
Any uninvited character may attempt to sneak into the scene if they know the protagonist of the scene
and have a reason to do so. In the case of NPCs the Principal decides who sneaks in, keeping in mind
that NPCs with rivalry will always try to be present and will stay out only if there is no reasonable reason
for them to appear. If another player wants to sneak his student into the scene, they will first explain the
reasons for being present in the scene and the way they are going to sneak in, and then make a roll to
see if the move works. The player will roll 2d6 and will add a bonus depending on the student's score in
the Skill associated to the scene: with A+ they will add +2, if they have A they will have a +1 bonus, with a

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D they will roll with no bonus, and if they have an F they cannot try to sneak in. Depending on the final
result the following will happen:
▶ 10+ : can help/interfere normally.
▶ 7-9 : can help/interfere but will receive a consequence.
▶ failure : cannot intervene in the scene and suffers a consequence.
Once the type of scene, the objective, the place and the participants have been decided, the scene is
narrated.

TERM SCENE NARRATION

The player controlling the main student is responsible for narrating the scene. If there are other PCs in
the scene they can be controlled by their respective players. Similarly, all NPCs can change their attitude
as directed by the Principal.
However, this control of the characters and the scene should not be used to impose the will of anyone,
nor to annoy or mock other characters or players, the goal is to create an interesting scene that ever-
yone is happy with, be it tragic, comic, dramatic, epic, or whatever tone you want to be dominant in the
game and more appropriate for this particular scene.
The way of narrating the scene will depend on each group, from a simple narration of the events in
third person to a more complex scene where each player controls one of the participants. Depending on
each group and each player, these scenes can be very long and with a large number of interactions, or
become an enumeration of parameters before the roll. Either of these two formats and all the variants
in between are acceptable and will mechanically have the same impact, so use the one you feel more
comfortable with.
Each group should find the storytelling point that suits them best, keeping in mind that this does not
have to be common to all players or all scenes.
The most important thing is that all players are comfortable with the way the scenes are developed and
resolved. If in doubt, start with a more mechanized approach to the scenes, and gradually increase the
narration and involvement of all players until you reach a point where everyone is comfortable.
Remember to use the characters' Traits as inspiration for the narration, their Skill scores or relationships
with the other characters and, above all, build on the story you have already been telling. The narration
cannot contradict the facts previously established, although you can refine them.
At some point in the scene a resolution roll must be made.

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TERM SCENE RESOLUTION

The time at which the resolution roll is made will depend on the particular scene.
Sometimes it is desirable to know the outcome of the scene as soon as possible to guide the narration
in a specific direction, while at other times the roll may be postponed until the end when it is necessary
to know the conclusion.
The term roll will be made at the most interesting or climatic moment of the scene. Enjoy the scene as
much or as little as you need to, and when it is time to know what turn of events will happen, make
the roll.
Rolling early allows you to know the outcome of the scene and narrate accordingly knowing where the
story is heading. Solving at the end creates more mystery and may present unexpected results that you
will have to take into account in order to finish the scene.
Only one resolution roll will be made per scene.

If you are familiar with other role-playing games you are probably used to making rolls to resolve
any individual action or conflict: "I declare an attack... roll", "I try to convince the innkeeper... roll",
"I flee in my space fighter... roll".
In Academia TITÁN the term scenes are resolved with a single roll. You may find this a bit strange at
first, but you will see that what we are trying to do is focus on the story, and the die rolls are just an
aid to tell that story, create interesting plot twists, or resolve situations that you don't know exactly
which way they will go. For everything else use your common sense, the logic of the world you have
created and rely on the story you have been building. In this way it will be easy to improvise the
attitude of a character when they finds themself in a certain situation, or to know how a student
will react when they meets that other student they dislike so much.

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To know the outcome of the scene the player of the protagonist character rolls 2d6 and takes into
account the following modifiers:
▶ +1 if you have used any of the protagonist character's Traits in the scene. This Trait will be marked
to show that even if it appears again in some scene it cannot provide a bonus to the roll again this
course. If several Traits have appeared during the narration only one of them will be applied. If
during the narration of the scene no Trait has been used this modifier is not applied.
▶ -1 if a negative Trait can be applied to the scene. Similar to the positive Traits, the negative Trait
used is marked so that it cannot mechanically penalize the PC for the remainder of the course.

Marked Traits cannot modify rolls again for the remainder of the course, however they do not
disappear and must be taken into account in the narrative.
If you apply a +1 to a scene for having an Exceptional sense of direction it does not make you
lose it, simply in that term that character's Trait was especially important, but that character
can always orientate in an outstanding way and it is something that can be used when narra-
ting the scenes. Even in scenes where you don't participate as a protagonist, even if you are
a guest in the scene, having a partner who orientates themself well can be a good excuse to
narrate a scene in the countryside.

▶ PC modifier.
▷ Find the relationship values with the protagonist of all the PCs in the scene. Take the highest
positive and the lowest negative. These two values will be used as modifiers to the term scene
resolution roll.
▶ NPC modifier.
▷ Similar to the PC modifier, find the relationship values with the protagonist of all the NPCs pre-
sent. The highest and lowest will be used as modifiers in the resolution roll.
These modifiers will give us a value between -5 and +5, although it will normally not be so extreme and
will be closer to +1.
The roll can only be modified by a maximum of +3 and a minimum of -3, although the original modifier
will be taken into account for the karma calculation.
Roll the two six-sided dice (2d6), add the results and apply the modifier calculated above (note the
maximums).

Roll with advantage/disadvantage.

Some character skills or game situations will instruct you to roll with advantage or disadvantage.
When rolling with advantage, roll 3d6 and add the highest 2. When rolling with disadvantage, roll
3d6 and add the lowest 2.

Once the total result of the roll is known, but before resolving it, the main character can spend 1 point
of Influence to get an additional +1 on the roll. The influence used must be justified in the fiction, that
is why each character has a specific type of influence.
According to the final result the scene is resolved as follows:

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▶ 10+ : the PC achieves the desired Objective and a Secondary Objective.

▶ 7-9 : the PC achieves the Objective but suffers a Consequence.
▶ failure : the PC suffers a Consequence.
Fulfilling Objectives:
▶ Raise a Curricular Ability: Mark a point of the corresponding Curricular Ability on the student's
sheet.
▶ Improve the team's Synchronization: The main character chooses one PC in the scene and both
students exchange Synchronization markers. If at any time a PC has Synchronization markers from
all the PCs on the team, they can raise the team's Synchronization ability by one point spending
all of those markers.
▶ Remove a negative Trait of your own or from another PC: The PC no longer suffers from the indica-
ted negative Trait. Delete the negative Trait from the student's sheet.
▶ Solve a Goal: The Goal is considered to have been accomplished.
▶ Teach a Curricular Ability to another PC: The other PC marks one point of the corresponding
Curricular Ability on their sheet.
If the student achieves a high enough score, they can also choose a Secondary Objective. Secondary
Objectives are:
▶ Raise a Curricular Ability. If your primary Objective was to raise a Curricular Ability you must choose
a different one.
▶ Improve the team's Synchronization. Only if that was not your primary Objective.
▶ Remove a negative Trait of your own. Only if that was not your main Objective.
▶ Modify a relationship one step in the desired direction. This does not involve moving the relations-
hip up or down a point, but moving it one space in the journal. The player may pick any character
in the scene for this, and modify any relationship of this character with any other character as long
as it makes sense in the story.
Consequences are penalties, problems or complications that arise when the outcome of the scene goes
wrong for the student. Available Consequences are:
▶ The Principal reduces a relationship by one step. As a result of the scene the opinion that another
character, PC or NPC, has of the protagonist worsens.
▶ The protagonist acquires a negative Trait. The player notes down a new negative Trait on his stu-
dent sheet as a result of the events narrated in the scene. Note that if the Trait "Expelled from
the Academy" is selected this implies the end of the story for this student and the player must
continue with a new character.
▶ The protagonist can make one of his negative Traits permanent. This does not imply any additional
penalty, but that negative Trait can no longer be removed as a result of term actions.
▶ The main character can spend one Influence Point to avoid consequences.

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INFLUENCE A RELATIONSHIP
Once the scene is resolved, and regardless of the outcome of the scene, the main character's player may
choose any character in the scene and attempt to change a relationship.
This attempt to influence a relationship is optional, and there is a chance that the relationship will
deteriorate.
The player declares which relationship of which character they want to change, based on the events
in the scene, and rolls two six-sided dice - this roll has no modifiers - . Depending on the result the
following may happen:
▶ 2 : The Principal modifies the relationship two steps at their discretion. Influence attempts are very
unwelcome.
▶ 3-5 : The Principal modifies the relationship one step at their election. The influence of the charac-
ter is detrimental to their interests.
▶ 6-7 : Despite the character's attempts the relationship is not modified.
▶ 8-11 : The player can modify the relationship one step at their discretion. The student's social
maneuvers are successful.
▶ 12 : The player can modify the relationship two steps of their choice. The student has been extraor-
dinarily influential.
The relationship scale can be seen in the student's diary. It has the following values from lowest to
highest:

-2 -1▼ -1▲ 0▼ 0▲ +1▼ +1▲ +2

ADJUST KARMA
Karma is a mechanical adjustment that is generated as a result of the modifiers calculated in the die
roll. It represents the opportunities that fate grants to the unluckiest, or the difficulties that appear to
the luckiest.
It is worked out according to the modifiers calculated before applying the limit of +3 as maximum and
-3 as minimum.
If the main character has a bonus of +3 or higher they gets as many negative karma points as their roll
bonus minus two.
If the protagonist has a penalty of -1 or lower they gets as many positive karma points as the value of
the negative penalty.

If you calculate a +4 modifier for your term roll you get 2 points of negative Karma (K-), and roll
with a +3 bonus.
If your roll modifier is -2 you get 2 points of positive Karma (K+). You will roll with -2.
You cannot use Karma on the same roll you have earned it.

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Positive Karma can be used to modify the result of your rolls, any roll, at the rate of +1 for each point
of positive Karma spent. You can declare the expenditure of Karma after seeing the result of the dice.
Negative Karma is a resource that can be used by the Principal to modify relationships with other cha-
racters or to impose specific modifiers in subsequent term rolls.

PRINCIPAL'S SCENES
If during the term scenes it is the players who, by turns, expose the most important events related to
their characters, during the Principal's scenes it is precisely the Principal who takes control of the action
and takes the opportunity to show specific parts of the story, fill in narrative gaps, or launch new hooks.
These scenes are optional and serve to flesh out the story, so they may not be necessary at times.
They represent the equivalent of interludes in series, when we leave the main characters for a moment
and the story focuses, temporarily, on the secondary characters. From letting us see, as the audience,
what the current villain is up to, to learning about the problems of another of the students that make
him be so unpleasant with the main characters.

THE MISSION
The grand finale of the course, the mission is that great climactic scene where the students board the
Titan, face all the problems raised during the course - enemies, doubts, enmities, misgivings, antago-
nists, rivalries,... - and everything is resolved against the background of a great combat.
Whilst during the course the term scenes may include training combats these are resolved with the
usual rules for term scenes.
The end of course mission has its own rules, focused on giving it some more depth and intensity, and
involving all the characters in its creation.

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At the beginning of the scene the Principal will briefly explain what the mission consists of. From this initial
explanation of the Principal the players will assign positions inside the Titan to their characters. Remember
that all positions in the Titan must be occupied and each position is unique; besides, the leader position
must be occupied by a player character. The NPCs of the group will occupy the free positions.
These are the positions within the Titan, and the associated Curricular Ability:
▶ Mechanic, will use Titan Engineering.
▷ Your job is to prepare the Titan for the mission, picking the best weapons and making sure
everything is ready. During the mission you are in charge of keeping the Titan running and
performing emergency repairs.
▶ Navigator, will use the Sensors and communications ability.
▷ You will be responsible for the approach and ensure that the enemies do not catch you by sur-
prise by maintaining a fluid communication during combat and being aware of everything that
happens on the battlefield.
▶ Gunner, will use Targeting Systems.
▷ Responsible for the Titan's armament, you are in charge of shooting down enemies before they
can damage the Titan as well as destroying the tactical targets of the mission.
▶ Pilot, will use Combat Maneuvers.
▷ You will be in charge of manipulating the Titan during the battle, being your main objective to
correctly position the Titan and prevent it from taking damage while driving it where it is needed
during the mission.
▶ Leader, will use Battle Tactics.
▷ You coordinate the efforts of the whole team trying to make the most of their actions to achieve
the objective.
The Leader position must always be fulfilled by a player character.
All combat rolls are limited by the Team Synchronization (or +3, whichever is less). Influence cannot be
used in these rolls.
NPCs do not roll, instead they use a fixed result marked AI and it's up to the Principal to explain what
they do during the mission. If the NPC's actions have been modified in any way the results of AI+ must
be used, if they have been given advantage, or AI- when they suffer disadvantage.
Each player will explain the most important scene of the confrontation for their student according to the
result of their roll. The Principal will be in charge of the NPC scenes.
The order of narration is as follows: Preparation, Approach, Combat, Piloting and Tactics.
The order in which the scenes are narrated does not necessarily imply a chronological sequence
between the scenes. The Gunner may explain the moment when they destroys the enemy base and the
Pilot may then narrate how they entered the base.
As always, although there is one person responsible for the narration, the rest of the table can make
suggestions and help as much as possible. It's your story and this is the last scene, so make sure it's as
epic as possible!

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PREPARATION
The Team Mechanic is in charge of preparing the Titan, handling shields and performing emergency
repairs during the mission.
Roll +Titan Engineering.
▶ 10+ : The Titan has 4 structural points. Additionally select 2 of the following options.
▷ (multi) Another layer of plating: +1 structural point.
▷ (multi) Last minute upgrades: pick one of the Titan's positions, that position will have a +1 on
its mission roll.
▷ (counts as two options) last minute upgrades (AI): select one of the Titan's positions occupied
by an NPC. Improve its result one step: from AI- to AI, or from AI to AI+.
▶ 7-9 : The titan has 3 structural points and you can select 1 of the options above.
▶ failure : The titan has only 2 structural points.
(multi) indicates an option that can be selected multiple times.
(2 options) indicates that this option costs 2 of the available options.
If the position is occupied by an NPC:
▶ AI : The titan has 4 structural points.
The Mechanic explains the planning for the combat and how they have prepared the Titan for the mis-
sion. They can also explain their work during the mission and narrate a particularly remarkable scene
from their point of view.

APPROACH
The Navigator is in charge of the sensors and searches for the best approach course, prepping the team
for combat from the best possible positioning. During the mission they keep an eye on the readings to
avoid surprise attacks, and use communications to maintain contact with the base and the rest of the
members of the operation, coordinating efforts.
Roll +Sensors and communications.
▶ 10+ : Beneficial approach. Your ability to read the situation not only saves you trouble but gives you
a slight advantage. Choose 1:
▷ Combat initiative: choose one of the Titan's positions, that position will have a +1 on its mission
roll.
▷ Advantageous information: you will be able to avoid a complication to one of the other positions
during this mission. You don't have to specify the position yet. When you use this information,
explain what you found out and how it avoids problems at that moment.
▷ Exemplary coordination: move a Synchronization marker (select a marker from one player and
give it to a different player). This can raise the team's Synchronization and will be effective for
the remaining rolls.

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▶ 7-9 : Entering combat. You enter combat not without trouble. Pick a complication.
▶ failure : Unprepared. You enter combat at a disadvantage. Choose a complication and a position of
the Titan (Pilot, Gunner or Leader) who will have -1 in his roll. If the selected position is covered by
an NPC reduce its result by one step: from AI+ to AI, or from AI to AI-. You cannot choose a position
occupied by an NPC that already has penalties and is already going to be resolved as AI-.
If the position is occupied by an NPC:
▶ AI+ : The titan enters combat without problems.
▶ AI : The titan loses 1 structural point.
▶ AI- : The titan loses 2 structural points.
The Navigator explains the combat scenario and the mission approach. They can also explain their work
during the mission and narrate a particularly remarkable scene from their point of view.

COMBAT
The Gunner is responsible for shooting down enemies and destroying mission objectives.
Roll +Targeting Systems.

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▶ 10+ : Enemy down! Your marksmanship is exceptional and you shoot down the enemies before
they can come close.
▶ 7-9 : Close combat. The combat intensifies. Select a complication.
▶ Failure: Outnumbered! The enemies are more resistant or more numerous than your destruction
capacity. Choose a complication and the Principal picks another one.
If the position is occupied by an NPC:
▶ AI+ : The gunner does an exceptional job.
▶ AI : The titan loses 1 structural point.
▶ AI- : The titan loses 2 structural points.
The Gunner explains the exchange of blows with the enemies and the weaponry that the enemies bring
to the battle. They can also explain their work during the mission and narrate a particularly remarkable
scene from their point of view.

PILOTING
The Pilot is responsible for driving the Titan to the target and avoiding enemy attacks.
Roll +Combat maneuvers.
▶ 10+ : Like a leaf in the wind. You move with exceptional grace and ease avoiding any damage to
the Titan.
▶ 7-9 : Defensive maneuvers. Enemies manage to hit the Titan despite your maneuvers. Pick a
complication.
▶ failure : Overwhelmed! Enemies are too fast or seem to anticipate your maneuvers. Choose one
complication and the Principal picks another one.
If the position is occupied by an NPC:
▶ AI+ : The pilot avoids all damage to the titan.
▶ AI : The titan loses 1 structural point.
▶ AI- : The titan loses 2 structural points.
The Pilot explains how they drives the Titan to the target, the combat maneuvers performed by the
enemy and how they try to avoid them. They can also narrate a particularly remarkable scene from their
point of view.

TACTICS
The Leader is the person ultimately responsible for the mission and who coordinates the efforts of the
entire team to achieve your objective.
Roll +Battle Tactics.
▶ 10+ : Mission achieved! You manage to lead your team to victory but not without paying the price.
Select a complication.

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▶ 7-9 : Bittersweet result. Things didn't turn out as you would have liked. Choose a complication and
one of the following options:
▷ defeat.
▷ victory. A last effort allows you to win. Pick an additional complication.
▶ failure : Defeat. Despite all your hard work, you have not achieved your objective. Choose one
complication and the Principal selects another.
This position cannot be occupied by an NPC.
The Team Leader narrates the resolution of the mission, making his scene the last one, and explains
how the mission ends. In addition, they can also indicate their previous work during the mission, how
they coordinate the team and how they feel doing it.
Victory or defeat is a mainly narrative resolution, focused on guiding the fiction from this point on.
A defeat in the final course may mean the annihilation of humanity, the death of all students, or some
other kind of apocalyptic disaster if it makes sense with the fiction created up to that point. However,
if the group is defeated in any other course the consequences will be felt in the background of the
next course's stories, and possibly in the students' Goals. The Principal will also have as many negative
Karma points as the number of players to make life difficult for them during the next course.

COMPLICATIONS
▶ Direct hit. The Titan loses 1 structural point.
▶ Combat fatigue. You acquire a negative Trait due to wounds sustained during combat or stress.
▶ Loss of initiative. -1 to the roll for a position that has not yet been resolved (cannot be selected
by the Leader).
▶ Panic. Reduces Synchronization by 1 point (cannot be selected by the Leader).

TITAN DESTROYED
If at any time the Titan loses all its structural integrity points it is destroyed. The mission will not be able
to continue, although the current roll and the corresponding scene will be completed.
It is possible for the Titan to be destroyed and still achieve victory if the destruction occurs in the Tactics
roll. In any other case it is considered a defeat.
Each member of the team must make a roll to see how they perform during ejection, or the procedure
used by that particular Titan to enable the escape and survival of the students. Roll by adding the
Synchronization score and subtracting -1 for each unresolved position. The Principal rolls for the NPCs.
▶ 2- : the character dies in the mission.
▶ 3 - 6 : the character escapes but receives two negative Traits.
▶ 7 - 9 : the character escapes but receives one negative Trait.
▶ 10+ : the character escapes without a scratch.

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After the mission, the Principal will close the course with a final scene as a conclusion.

FINAL SCENES (ENDING)

During the Ending the players briefly explain how their characters finish the course, thus concluding
the session.
We recommend a format similar to the Opening, in which single descriptive scenes are presented,
without the need for further detail or explanations.
In the case of the 4th course, these scenes should give clues about the future of the now former stu-
dents, and how their life will be after the Academy.
These scenes are intended to emulate the season finales of the series, serving as a conclusion and
"teaser" of what is to come.

ADVANCED COURSES
The course structure presented above is common to all games, however as students progress there are
some details to keep in mind that will slightly modify the game experience.

CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT
At the beginning of each new course, starting in 2nd grade, players will be able to choose an improve-
ment from their student booklet.
These new capabilities introduce new rules or improve in some way the already existing capacities of
the student.
The player chooses the improvement, marks it in their booklet and can use it from that moment on.
Some improvements can be picked several times, the effects being cumulative. Others are restricted to
the 4th year, so they can only be selected after finishing the 3rd year.
It is recommended that players justify these improvements in the story, introducing them, for example,
during the summer introduction scenes.

GOALS
Beginning in the second year, the Principal will assign Goals to the students during the summer
preparation.
The Goals are missions in themselves, personal objectives that each student must accomplish during
the course. These missions are secret and should not be revealed to the rest of the players, although
they will be slightly exposed during the summer scenes.
A Goal has the following structure:

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▶ SUDENT: GASIRA

INTRO
Your heart is torn between your rebelliousness and the
affection you have for your classmates. You want to leave
the Academy to spite your family, but you know that if
you leave you will also hurt your friends.

GOAL
Accept your feelings and make a final decision about your
stay in school.

CONSEQUENCES
As long as you do not control your feelings you are at a
disadvantage when connecting to the Titan's systems.

Student specifies the name of the student who must achieve the Goal.
The Intro is a brief explanation of the situation to the player.
The Goal is the mission itself. It is an action to be performed by the student during their term actions
and replaces them.
The Consequences shows the penalties the student suffers as long as they do not achieve their goal.
Some Goals may also list specific time frames in which they must be carried out or additional condi-
tions. For example: 'Must be the last scene of the second term', or 'Must be solved in a scene with the
Head of School'.
The Goals are created by the Principal taking into account what happened in previous courses, and
represent interesting facts for the student, as well as striking paths of action or mysteries to be solved.
The most usual consequence will be a penalty in the end-of-course mission, but a special ability can
also be blocked until the goal is met, or a specific type of scene can be disabled, or any other effect that
is interesting for the development of the story.
The number of Goals is different depending on the course:
▶ First course: during the first course students do not receive Goals. It is enough for the students to
get used to the Academy.
▶ Second course: 1 annual Goal.
▶ Third course: 1 annual Goal.
▶ Fourth course: 2 annual Goals.

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SUMMER
From the second course onwards, instead of narrating the introductory scenes, there will be a Summer
phase at the beginning of the course.
Similar to the introductory scene, as if it were the beginning of a new season, you will show what
each character has done during the summer, how they have changed, what their interests have been
and briefly introduce the character's Goal. It is not advisable to clearly state what the student's Goal
is for the rest of the table to know, it is much better to suggest it or to slip in a detail or two during
the staging.
If there is a new student, after the creation of the character the player will proceed to introduce them
as usual as if it were a first course introductory scene, after which the rest of the PCs will roll on the first
impression matrix as with any important character. Of course, it is not necessary to roll first impressions
again for PCs who already know each other.
The summer phase has its own structure:
▶ Summer break.
▷ All PCs' relationships with other PCs are moved one step closer to the middle ranks (modifiers
0▲ and 0▼). Each student may choose one of their relationships to maintain so that it does not
decay over the summer. The player will explain what their student has done over the summer
to maintain that relationship.
▷ Players may modify their relationships with NPCs by moving the marker one rank in either direc-
tion. Again, each player will explain what these changes in impression are due to.
▷ The Principal adjusts the relationships of the NPCs with the PCs.
▶ Recovery.
▷ Characters may remove a negative (non-permanent) Trait they had at the end of the previous
course. Explain how the student was able to get rid of that complication.
▷ If they did not have any negative Trait to remove during the summer, they can use this time to try
to improve a relationship of their choice. See Influencing a Relationship on page 47.
▶ Aging.
▷ Each character can choose one improvement from their booklet. Remember that some improve-
ments are restricted to the 4th course.
▶ New course preparation.
▷ The Principal introduces the new course and gives each player the Goal (or Goals) of their cha-
racter for this year.
▷ The progress of all the Curricular Abilities is erased, setting them to 0. Students must learn
abilities corresponding to their level.
▷ All players return any Synchronization markers of another student they have from the pre-
vious year. Players receive their own student's Synchronization markers. These counters are
not capped, although it would be rare to need more counters per student than the number of
players.

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▷ All players return the Influence left over from the previous course, as well as any other counters
of different types they may have (Support markers, Strange(r) things, Positive Karma...). They
then receive Influence counters and special markers according to their sheet, those indicated as
annual plus those they may receive due to improvements.
▶ Introductory scenes.
▷ Each player introduces their character as in the intro of a series, summarizing what they have
done during the summer and showing snippets of what is to come (giving hints about the Goals
received).

GAME MASTERING
In a game of Academia TITÁN there are two types of roles among the participants: Players and Principal.
The Players will be responsible for controlling the main characters of our story, especially important
students of the Academy.
On the other hand, the Principal of the Academy, or just Principal, will be mainly responsible for mana-
ging the structure of the story, establishing the time frames, and helping the Players with the rules so
that the story can be told in the most agile and entertaining way possible. Many times this will also
imply that the Principal will take control of some NPCs, or suggest courses of action to the Players about
their characters.

If you are familiar with role-playing games, the work of the Principal in Academia TITÁN is very
similar to that of the classic Game Directors, Narrators, or Dungeon Masters.
However, the role of Principal in Academia TITÁN does not place the same emphasis on tasks such
as the preparation of the adventure or the interpretation of the NPCs since the adventure is some-
thing that is created by everyone during the game and the control of the NPCs varies from scene to
scene, being the main responsible the player who is narrating at that moment.

The Principal's job at Academia TITÁN is mainly management: they guide the narrative and help with the
rules to ensure that the game runs smoothly.

SETTING UP THE GAME

If you are going to be the Principal of an Academia TITÁN game, congratulations!. You will be able to
enjoy the game without the demands of interpretation, narration or improvisation that the Players will
need to display, discovering at the same time as them what happens, and surprising yourself with the
path that the events will take at every moment, as if you were watching a series. And, at the same time,
you will take an active part of the action, you will know some of the secrets that are brewing in the
shadows, and you will be able to throw interesting ideas to the table to move the adventure along the
most interesting, epic and enjoyable possible paths.

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All of this, which may seem incredibly complex, is actually quite simple since most of the time you will
be playing reactively, applying the game rules to the game, or determining courses of action according
to the logic of the world you have created.
To do this, before you start playing all you will need is to have read this handbook and understand the
rules of the game. As you will see the game is structured in such a way that you will know at all times
what is expected of you and how to guide the Players to advance the game, leaving them the focus of
the game most of the time.
On the first day of the game it is important that you do not bring any predetermined ideas about what
kind of game you would like to play, as that could influence the collaborative creation, and it is very
important that the world you create is to everyone's liking, not only to your liking.
Remember to have at hand all the help material you need: copy of the first impressions matrix, charac-
ter sheets, booklets, course structure, summary of scene and mission resolution...
If you are going to play online, apart from the platform you use to communicate, you will need an appli-
cation to roll dice and be able to share the game material.
If you gather to play it will also be advisable to have all the counters used by the characters. Of course
you can keep track of them on the card itself, but interacting with physical elements helps a lot to be
aware of these elements.
You can always use background music, but if you choose it before the game make sure that it is as varied
as possible, because if you base your game on the soundtrack of a particular series you will be guiding
the game in that direction. Of course, if you have discussed that the game will have a specific theme or
will be inspired by a specific series, using the soundtrack of that series makes all the sense. Also, once
the character sheets are finished, if each player looks for a theme for their student, you can play it on
loop during their scenes. Of course, don't let the music steal the protagonism of the game. The music
should be in the background, so that it doesn't interrupt the natural flow of the game or make it difficult
to listen to the players.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
When we talk about managing expectations we mean making it clear to the players what they can expect
from the game before they start playing. This is something that can be advanced before game day, or
that you will need to explain to the Players on the first day of play.

SHARED CREATION
One of the main distinguishing features of Academia TITÁN compared to other role-playing games is that
there is no defined and locked setting in which the game will be played. Instead, the setting will be sket-
ched on the first day among all the players, and at all times the players will be expected to contribute
and further detail that world and that story. This shared creation will allow them to play in a setting to
everyone's liking instead of being constrained by a previous creation.
Although the Players may come to the game with some predetermined ideas about the type of story
they would like to play or the world in which they would like to live adventures, it is important that they
are clear that it will be a collaborative construction, so those ideas should not be fixed but should be
able to adapt to the rest of ideas that appear on the table.

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If your players have never played a role-playing game before, you will probably have to start from
there. Don't get overly complicated explaining the rules and mechanics, on the contrary, simplify
it as much as possible to make it interesting and easy to understand. One of the most common
explanations is to describe a role-playing game as a shared storytelling in which they - the Players
- are going to be the protagonists of the story and you are going to help them tell it. Another very
common formula is to compare it to reading a book or watching a movie in which they will be able
to dictate the actions of the main characters and you will fill in all the gaps, play the supporting
characters, and explain everything that happens.
Anyway, the easiest way is to play and help them during the game, encouraging them to participate
and, above all, asking for their opinion frequently. Many people are not used to letting their imagi-
nation fly and expressing it out loud, not because they lack imagination, but simply because they
censor themselves and discard those ideas immediately. If we generate the right environment of
trust you will see how the Players will start to loosen up and become more and more involved in
the game.

STRUCTURED STORYTELLING GAME

Another important element to keep in mind before starting to play is that Academia TITÁN is a structu-
red and storytelling game.
Structured means nothing more than that there is a framework that shapes the game, sequencing what
is done at each moment and how. This, far from constraining the participants, gives them a common
framework and guidelines on which to base themselves and feel comfortable during the game. They will
know what to expect from the game at all times.
Referring to Academia TITÁN as a storytelling game implies nothing more than emphasizing the fact that
the focus of the game is on telling a story, with all the rules being geared towards helping the partici-
pants tell that story. The rules blend with the fiction you are creating and help to advance it.

BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE SETTING

Regardless of the world in which you end up playing, remember that there are some basic principles
that must be preserved; after all, the game will take place in a school where young students will learn
to work together so they can handle the Titans.
The school can take any form, but it will be the scenario where most of the story will take place.
The fact that the protagonists are young students will always be present, with their adolescent dramas
and their exaltation of any relationship. Raging hormones, romances, rivalries, misunderstandings... the
life of a teenage student may be many things but it sure won't be boring.
The need to work together in groups of five students is another staple that many rules are going to
rely on. Not only is it used as an excuse to unite the main characters, which it is too, but by including
at least one non-player character in the group (remember that although you can play with more pla-
yers, the recommended maximum is four Players and a Principal) this makes it necessary to take into
account the relationships with these secondary characters. And, of course, it is also something that is

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directly related to the Synchronization rules. The reason in your setting why there are precisely five
pilots needed to control a Titan is already a matter of the game table.
All this mixed with the background of the Titans and all that their existence implies. Where did they
come from, what are they used for, what environment do the students live in, what enemies are there...
These are the cornerstones that the game needs to work and on which you will build your setting. From
there, don't be afraid to let your imagination run wild.

Of course, you can also use this time to talk about security and agree on the tools you will use for this
purpose.

SHARED CREATION
It is very easy to say to the Players that the setting is not defined and that they will have the opportunity
to help create and define it during the game, but what exactly does that imply for you as a Principal in
an Academia TITÁN game?
Let's start from the beginning.

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Although your duties in the game as Principal sets you apart from the rest of the Players, this is only a
mechanical difference in the way you intervene and when you do it, however this does not imply at all
that your ideas and opinions about the story have more or less weight. The story is told by all of you,
and although each of you intervenes in a different way, all ideas brought to the game table are equally
important.
The main implication of this is that, as part of the group, you can bring ideas of what you would like to
see in the game on the first day, but your ideas being as valid as those of others, you must be willing to
adapt or discard them if something more interesting for the game table appears.
Although the first day of the game the setting is sketched, it is not locked; you all can add new ideas and
concepts over the ones already established. However, always bear in mind that anything that is added
must be coherent with the fiction created up to that moment, and must respect the general consensus
of the table.

E.g.- if during the creation of the setting you all agreed to play in a fantasy setting where magic
supersedes technology and the Titans are large golems crewed by students of the Arcane Academy,
all these premises must be respected in the future. This implies that it may be discovered that
Professor Necron is actually a disciple of the Dark Lord who seeks to destroy the Academy, even if
that Dark Lord had not been named before and Professor Necron seemed like a nice guy. If you all
find that interesting, go ahead. Now, discovering that the magic is actually generated through chips
implanted in the students and everything is a virtual reality experiment in which the students are
immersed may not be the best proposition in the world, as it goes against the initial premise. This
does not mean that it cannot even be proposed, but being something so detached from the origi-
nal ideas, the proposal should be made on the assumption that it is very likely that the group refu-
ses to go that way. It is better to ask the table and accept the refusal, than go ahead with the idea
and have someone interrupt you saying that it can't be done for reasons you already knew before
you even proposed it. Think about others, propose, and you'll be surprised to see how adaptable
are other players to new ideas, especially if their feedback is taken into account. They may not be
technology chips, but the virtual environment and having to escape the simulation may capture
the interest of the table... or both, or neither. But whatever it is, it will be to everyone's liking.

During the game your job as Principal will often be to guide and arbitrate.
Ask questions constantly to clarify doubts and ensure that everyone is on the same ground. Your goal
is not to question whether this new mecha destroyer is a good idea or not, but rather to ensure that
everyone is clear about the appearance and capabilities of this Titan, not only to avoid that everyone
pictures it in a different way, but because that way everyone else can then incorporate that idea into
their own narrative in a way that is faithful to the original proposal.
Of course, like any other player, suggest new ideas when they seem interesting to you. You are also
playing the game, and if you think it's a good idea that the traitor should be the captain of the kendo
team... tell the others about it! If you do, it might be as you suggest, or it might give someone else an
idea that the captain is actually being blackmailed for. Either way, that brainstorming will enhance the
game and you all will gain from it. If you don't contribute, you'll be playing other people's game, and
that may not be as entertaining.
Be careful, make sure that the others also contribute. There will be players who, because of the way they
are, or because they are used to this kind of games, will have no problem in doing so. However, other
more novice or more timid players will often not intervene and it will not be for lack of ideas. Ask them

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directly what they think, where they feel the story should go, or what they would like to happen. Or, if
you are dealing with very shy players, use guided questions. Ask them a question where the answer
is in the question itself: Do you think the captain of the kendo team is the traitor or is he really just a
pawn of someone still in the shadows? This way you encourage the more timid players to take part in
the game, taking the burden of being creative and having to improvise on the spot off their shoulders.
Finally, write down and take notes of everything that happens at the table.
Throughout the game you have to write down data such as the relationship score of each NPC with the
PCs, but do not just stop with that, surely more details have come out that are interesting. Knowing that
the history teacher has a -1 with A.L. is good and gives you ideas of how to guide the scenes in which
they concur. If you couple that -1 with what the players said when they rolled in the First Impressions
Matrix, you'll have a lot more information. A -1 is not the same as "the teacher hates A.L. because he
reminds him of a classmate he had when he studied at the Academy" or "the teacher thinks A.L. is a
smart ass who just wants to make a fool of him". The score may be the same, but the story hooks are
very different.
Take notes on what is happening in the background and what might actually be happening. This will
help you decide what to do in the Principal's scenes or in the final mission, and will be particularly
useful when you have to assign Goals in the upper grades.

FIRST GAME SESSION

You have met to play a game of Academia TITÁN. Before getting together you talked to the Players to
explain the basics about the game (managing expectations) and you are clear about how the game
works and the rules (setting up the game). It's time to start playing.

If you are going to play Academia TITÁN in a game con, the first game session is going to be the only
one, so it is advisable to try to play a full course.
With this in mind you will have to speed things up slightly. Make sure you have a watch at hand and
try to keep up with the times.
Explanation of the game, setting and character creation should not take you more than an hour.
Allow about half an hour for initial explanations and setting creation, and another half an hour to
create the characters and play the introductory scenes.
Assuming a four-hour session, that leaves us approximately three quarters to one hour per term,
or in other words, between ten and fifteen minutes per term scene for each student, depending on
whether you play with three or four players (recommendation: in cons, three players are better).
This will leave you half an hour for the final mission and contingencies.
Of course you can also play at your own pace and finish the session when you have to go, but being
able to enjoy the whole experience even if it is a bit rushed is usually preferable to being left hal-
fway through. Think that if they see the whole picture and it catches their attention, they will be
able to play it comfortably at home, while if they do a couple of very detailed scenes they will have
had a good time but they will not have seen much of the game.

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GAME WORLD CREATION

The game starts with the creation of the game world following the guidelines on page 33.
Here you will have to perform a double task:
On one hand, as any other player, you will have to contribute ideas, accept suggestions, and look for the
most interesting themes you would like to see in the game.
In addition, as Principal, you will guide the other players so that you don't get lost in divagations, and
you are able to define the basic aspects of the setting as soon as possible. It will be your job to ensure
that the decisions taken are to the preference of the whole, avoiding that any voice is raised above the
others (including yours), and ensuring that the shyer players also contribute.
As soon as you have defined the Academy, the Titans and the enemy they face, you will have the foun-
dations of your game.

CHARACTER CREATION
Once the setting for the game is known, it is time to get to meet our protagonists. Explain to the Players
the different Archetypes available, or show them the sheets with the sample artwork. Do not go into
detail about the rules of each Archetype, only about its role during the game and what opportunities
it offers.
Let the Players distribute the Archetypes (they can't repeat), and ask the ones you see more doubtful:
which one catches your attention?, what kind of character would you like to play in a series set in the
world you have created? or, also, which character from a known series draws your attention? With these
questions you should be able to guide and help the stragglers to decide.
Don't start filling in the sheets until each Player has a character booklet. And, when everyone has their
assigned Archetype, ask what ideas each one has about their own characters. There will be some who
already have a very clear idea, some who only have bits and pieces of an idea, and most probably
some who have no idea of what they are going to play. It is precisely the preparation of the setting and
listening to the other players what will help the most hesitant players to start defining their character.
Before filling out the sheet, briefly explain its contents. The most descriptive parts are details of the
character that will help to flesh them out, the Skills show how good the student is in the different
academic aspects and will determine the most common types of scenes in which they will be seen, the
Curricular Abilities represent their progress in the control of the Titan - remind them that each student
will focus on a position in case they want to start assigning the seats - and finally, the Traits are descrip-
tors that complete the profile of the character and will help them throughout the game.
Filling the character sheet in is a collaborative process. Ask them what they are writing and why, encou-
rage them to contribute ideas about the rest of the characters. In this way, by the time the sheet is
completed, it will not just be numbers on a paper, but will depict a character with a past.
When everyone has finished, it's time for introductions (page 36). This way of presentation by frames
helps to capture the most important and defining elements of the character, so that other Players can
get a good idea of what the other protagonists are like. If you have already decided what each student's
favorite songs are and can use them to support the presentation, it will help set the tone for the cha-
racter and their image to the rest of the table.

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STARTING MATERIALS DISTRIBUTION

After character creation and presentation, each Player will have a student's sheet and a diary where
they will write down their relationship with the rest of the characters (PCs and NPCs) of the Academy.
On your part it would be advisable that you have at hand not only the rulebook, but also a sheet with
the First Impressions Matrix, the structure of the game, the summary of rules for term and missions, the
scene control diagram, the summary sheet of NPC relationships and the group's sheet.
You should all have writing materials not only to fill out the game sheets but to take notes or draw
anything you need (or the equivalent if you play online).
A pair of six-sided dice (2d6) minimum, even better if you have at least a pair for each player.
In addition, it is advisable to use physical elements for the counters: Influence, Support and Strange(r)
Things. This is even more interesting with the Synchronization counters. Each player should have their
own counters, with different colors for instance, that can be exchanged with the other Players when
Synchronization scenes are performed. Using physical items is not required, but it is surprising how
much it changes for the players to have something that can be touched compared to simply keeping
track on the character sheet. Highly recommended.

TERM SCENES
Term scenes are the central axis around which a game of Academia TITÁN is played. In these scenes
we see the most remarkable moments of each student in the current term, advancing the story while
improving their control of the Titan and their ability to work as a team (Synchronization).
During these scenes it will be the Players themselves who have control of the scene and everything that
happens in it, being the rest of the table spectators of it. Of course, this does not imply that you cannot
participate in the scene, on the contrary, all of you are expected to comment, suggest, get excited and
laugh with the story that the Player of the protagonist student is telling. Not only that, depending on
your dynamics as a group, you can choose to make the scenes more interpretative, allowing each Player
to intervene with their character, explaining their actions and interpreting them in first person. In the
same way, your task as Principal will be to ensure that the NPCs are consistent with the fiction created so
far, and to assure the good development of the scene. This involves suggesting courses of action, giving
ideas, or remembering elements of the story that might be overlooked, but also controlling the timings
and trying to make everyone feel part of the story.
Let's start at the beginning.
The first thing the group has to determine is who plays the term scene, bearing in mind that each pro-
tagonist must have one term scene, and only one.
If the group can't agree, or there are no volunteers, you will have to step in to get out of the jam. If it
is the first scene of the game it can be resolved by drawing lots or starting with the student with the
highest Discipline. Later, when the story has already developed somewhat, it is advisable to start with
the one who has more unfinished business and whose plot line is clearer, thus giving time and ideas to
the more shy or less determined. Another good method, after having played at least one scene, is for the
Player of the scene just finished to decide who will be the protagonist of the next scene.
Next, the scene must be set: what type of scene is it?, what is the objective?, where does it take place?,
and who is present?

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Mechanically it should be noted that students cannot repeat the same type of scene two terms in a row,
although some Archetypes have special rules in this regard. The Skill score will also have to be taken
into account. A+ or A allows you to play scenes of that type without problems, but with a D you will need
the help of another student with A+ in that Skill - who must join the scene, of course -, and if you have
an F you cannot play scenes of that type.
Each type of scene is associated with a Curricular Ability or Synchronization boost. This can help in
deciding the type of scene to play. Players should not be afraid to be "mechanically optimal" when
deciding their scenes, in fact they are expected to be, so it is recommended that you remind them about
it especially if you can prevent that several students raise the same Curricular Ability at the same time,
since only one of them will be able to fill the related seat in the final mission. Remind them what the
possible objectives are, what the group's situation is, and together suggest possible scenes that seem
interesting or that you would like to see next.
Once the type and objective have been decided, it is time to flesh out the scene by deciding where it
takes place and who is present. The type of scene indicates the main theme of the scene, but scenes
can take place in multiple locations. In this rulebook we have suggested a few, but look for the most
appropriate ones according to the type of scene and your story, keeping in mind that nothing prevents
you from creating new locations if you need to.
When the main character's Player decides who is present - PCs and NPCs - remind the Players who have
not been invited that they have the option of sneaking into the scene. Of course, before attempting to
sneak in they should explain the character's motivation for being in the scene and how they will attempt
to do so. Likewise, you as Principal have the power to include new NPCs in the scene. Remember that the
protagonist's rivals will always try to be present in their scenes, so if you think it is reasonable for them
to be present, tell the Player and explain how they appear in the scene. Similarly, if some other NPC
should be in the scene you can also add them, although if they are not rivals and have not been added
by the main Player you should avoid adding more NPCs to the scene. If during the scene some new NPC
appears, think if it is just a supporting character or if it has some prominence, in case of doubt always
assume it is a possible important NPC; if it can have prominence create it quickly in your NPC sheet and
have all the PCs present roll to see their first impression with the NPC and, the other way around, have
them roll to see what is the NPC's first impression of the PCs.
During the scene the narration control will be taken by the Player of the main student, however the
whole table can ask questions and make suggestions. It is your mission as Principal to ensure that the
narration respects everything that has been created before. If at any point the fiction goes down an
inconsistent path, remind the Player: they may just not remember that fact, perhaps it has not been
explained properly, or they may be preparing some kind of revelation. It is always better to ask and
remember what the established fiction is than to say "that's not right" or "you can't do that".
The Player narrating the scene can do it in different ways, from a simple third person narration of
events, to a complex theatrical staging involving the rest of the table. Any of the formats, and all the
options in between, are correct. However, try to know the tone of the table and guide the participants
in that direction, encouraging the more shy ones to interpret their characters in the first person, or
distributing the time of protagonism so that no one monopolizes it excessively.
Be aware of the time and remind the Players about it. This is especially important on a game con, but
you should not neglect it at any time. It is not good to let a single Player go into hour-long monologues
while the others just listen. Give more time to the more collaborative scenes, and reduce the time for
solo scenes. Keep in mind that the whole table has the right to have fun and be in the spotlight.

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When should the term scene be solved?

We could encounter three possible scenarios: solve at the beginning and develop depending on the
resolution, solve in the middle and continue depending on the result, fully develop the scene and solve
to adjust the ending.
Depending on the scene and the Player responsible, one or the other will have to be used.
In general, if the Player does not have a very clear idea of the scene, help them to define it and when
the terms of the scene are clear, let them roll to resolve. Depending on the result they will have an idea
on how to narrate it, since they will know all the details of the scene and its ending.
The most usual situation will be that the Player begins to narrate the scene, and in a climactic point
proceeds to its resolution. With this new information the Player will continue to describe the scene with
an ending in mind.
Finally, in some cases the Players are clear about what they want to play
out and don't need any help. Let them work out their scene with time
limits in mind, and when a reasonable amount of time has passed, the
scene is losing steam or is coming to its natural end, it is time to resolve.
The mechanical resolution of the scene helps the narrative resolution,
but does not replace it.

It is Reiko's turn so Raquel, the Player who controls Reiko, explains that she is going to perform a
Discipline scene in the simulator. Her objective is to raise her Battle Tactics Curricular Ability, for
which she proposes an activity with all her group in which she can improve her leadership skills.
As Principal you see no reason to include more NPCs besides the group's own NPCs that Raquel has
already included, so you tell her to start with her scene.
Raquel describes how Reiko has programmed a Kobayashi Maru for her team. She explains what
station each student is going to assume in the Titan, and how the group is patrolling a border area
when they receive a distress signal from across the border. At this point Raquel asks for help from
the other Players to role-play the reaction of their respective students in that situation. You, as
Principal, take the role of the fifth member of the group, Kyoichi.
When the Players have stated their attitudes and the scene has developed to the point of reaching
a final conclusion, you instruct Raquel to move on to the resolution.
She checks the bonuses for PCs and NPCs, explains which Trait she has used in the scene, and
rolls the 2d6. A partial success allows her to achieve her goal, raising Battle Tactics, but there are
consequences.

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Raquel explains that Reiko silences the group's criticisms and doubts about the orders: saving
lives is more important, so she orders them to pass the border and rush to the rescue. However, it
is a trap and their Titan is destroyed.
Reiko has made a firm decision and has led her team, thus justifying the progress in Battle Tactics,
however her authoritarian character has not been well received and this worsens her relationship
with one of the team members. This is the consequence of the partial success.
As we can see, the results of the resolution end up guiding the scene towards its end. This ending
is not directly linked to the result of the die roll; Raquel has decided that her Titan is destroyed,
but to the achievement of the objective: raising the Battle Tactics Curricular Ability.
This can happen with all kinds of results. A scene with a group athletic competition to raise
Synchronization, for example. With a failure it can be narrated that the group has won the compe-
tition but has not worked well as a team, so that the objective of Synchronization is not achieved.
Conversely, with a complete success you can narrate how the group loses the competition, but
having been united in that important moment helps them to understand each other and brings
them closer as a group, allowing Synchronization.
The resolution of the scene determines whether the objective is achieved, and helps to narrate its
ending, but how this applies to the fiction is up to the Player protagonist to decide.

In addition to the resolution of the scene, and regardless of the outcome, Players may try to modify the
relationship score of any of the characters present. It is not necessary for the relationship to be with a
character in the scene.
This roll is optional, although its result can also help in solving the narration of the scene.
Remember that the result of the relationship modification are steps in the relationship scale, not direct
changes in the bonus.

THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATRIX

The First Impressions Matrix is one of the main drama generators in Academia TITÁN.
You will use it every time two main characters meet for the first time, and from the roll of d66 we will
get that initial feeling the characters will have when they meet, as well as a number score. The initial
impression sets the basis of the relationship, helps to introduce characters in the game and gives ideas
on how to play the PCs since we know bits and pieces of their past or their personality. The number
score shows the current state of the relationship from one of the points of view. It is important to
remember that relationships are asymmetrical, and that when two characters meet both must roll to
know their reaction and initial score. Just as the initial feeling and score are different, the evolution of
the relationship will also differ. One of the characters may think better and better of the other, while on
the other side the relationship is getting worse and worse.
It is very important that these first impressions are conducted by the matrix rather than left to the
judgment of the characters. Not only does it generate strange and unexpected turns of events, but it
helps reinforce the fact that we are playing teenagers in a high school. The cocktail of hormones in the
students causes their emotions to run wild at the most inappropriate times, aside from often exagge-
rating friendships and offenses.

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This is not so much an interference in the Players' "narrative agenda" nor in their control of their cha-
racters, as a starting point on which to begin to work. In fact, the first impressions are deliberately vague
in order to allow the Players to adapt them to their tastes. Yes, you may not have had any control over
the fact that this new student is a pain in the ass to your character, but... why is that?, what did they do
to you?, or, perhaps... what do you think they have done to you?
The matrix gives you a basis to start playing, Players shape it. And, yes, you're going to see some very
crazy and strange things. That's the fun of it, isn't it?

NPCS
Non-player characters are all those characters that appear in the story that are not directly controlled
by the Players, i.e. they are not the main characters of the story. However, they can be very important
for its development.

If you have played other role-playing games you will be used to NPCs being the responsibility of
the Principal. This is not exactly the same in Academia TITÁN since the scenes are narrated by the
Players and they will often be the ones to say how the NPCs behave. Yes, it will be your mission
to control that they are coherent with the established fiction, but in reality that is the task of the
whole table and it is something they must do with all the characters (PCs and NPCs).

Within these NPCs we can distinguish two kinds: the supporting and the main characters.
Supporting characters are all those NPCs that appear only to give color. In most cases they will not even
have a name, and once they fulfill their purpose in a scene they disappear, never to be heard of again.
The driver of the bus that takes the students to school is a good example.
Major characters are all those characters who are important to the story and who must be followed up
to ensure that they are not forgotten and that their contributions to the story are consistent throughout
it.
Any supporting character may become a major character in a moment. The bus driver is a nameless
gray woman until one scene when she helps the NPCs out of trouble and her past as a former Academy
pilot is revealed.
When one of these major NPCs appears in the story for the first time the Players of the PCs present
should roll on the First Impressions Matrix - the rest of the PCs will roll when they first meet the NPC -
to see what their character's initial feeling towards the NPC are, and they should roll a second time to
find out what the NPC thinks of their student. Remember to apply the relevant modifiers to the NPC's
roll if the Archetype of the student in question indicates so. Each Player will mark in their Journal the
initial relationship score and explain that first impression, you as Principal will write down in your NPC
tracking sheet the relationship score with each student and the most relevant data of the NPC. Among
all the Players, not only the Player who has rolled, you will try to make sense of the results of the First
Impressions Matrix taking into account the fiction already established.

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The relationship score of the students towards the NPCs will not be applied to any roll, but is an
indicator of the relationship status.

Introducing new NPCs implies performing several rolls and stopping the game to explain their role in
the story. This is a long-term investment, since you are improving the setting, but at the same time it is
a break in the pace of the game.
If you are playing in a con, or during the first day of the game, try to reduce the appearance of NPCs to
the minimum necessary to carry on the game without having frequent pauses. Likewise, on subsequent
days, try not to generate too many NPCs at once. For example, if you introduce another group of NPCs
who are going to be the rival crew, do it gradually. Introduce their leader first, and progressively intro-
duce the other members of the group. This minimizes the impact of stopping to create the NPCs and
perform the rolls, while at the same time distributes the protagonism by focusing the attention each
time on a specific element instead of dispersing it among several.

PRINCIPAL'S SCENES
Principal's scenes are equivalent to term scenes, although in this case the protagonists are not the PCs
and the control of the scene falls on the Principal.
These scenes are used to show events that have occurred in the background, provide conclusions, show
outcomes, or prepare for upcoming events.
They are not mandatory. It is a resource available to the Principal to enhance the story.
As it can be seen in the game structure, there is one at the beginning of the course, one at the end of
each term, and a last one after the end of the course mission.
▶ [Opening] Introductory scenes / Summer.
▶ Academic course.
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene. Introduction.
▷ Round of scenes of the first term (one per player).
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▷ Round of scenes of the second term (one per player).
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▷ Round of scenes of the third term (one per player).
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene.
▶ End of course mission.
▷ [optional] Principal's Scene. Conclusion .
▶ [Ending] Final Scenes.

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The first Principal's scene each game occurs after the students' introductions, or the description of the
events that took place during the summer. Just before the first term begins. The first session of the
first course is a good time to describe the Academy, introduce the staff, gather all the PCs in a group
of students that is completed with NPCs and even introduce some rival teams. In later years it is the
opportunity to show which NPCs are going to be important, how the Academy has changed during the
summer, or to hint what the important plots are going to be that year.
At the end of the first term the students will be enjoying Christmas, you can take advantage of the
moment to describe how the Academy is at that time of the year or what each NPC does those days.
If there is already a plot in progress is a good time to develop it or focus on a NPC. Although the
story is built by all of you, your task as Principal is to weave together everything that happens and
move the events in the background, always being coherent with the story you are telling. This will
be emphasized in the higher courses, where you will directly create secret plots that the Players will
discover step by step. To that extent, creating plots does not determine what is going to happen, it
simply marks a course of action that will occur if the students do not prevent it. Plots are more about
creating motivations, planting story seeds, and developing them gradually. The Principal's scenes
will be the moments where you can take advantage of showing bit by bit what happens in the back-
ground, and if everything follows its course it will end up happening as you have planned. However,
as they are intentions they should be subject to change. If the PCs befriend the antagonist he will
probably abandon his revenge plans, or if they discover that the extra-dimensional science teacher is
secretly collaborating with a group of invading aliens before she opens a portal, the invasion that she
was brewing will not happen. Scheme in secret, but be honest with the Players and do not prevent
them from interfering with your plans.
At the end of the second term there is usually a short break. This is an opportunity to delve into the
events that have been happening during the course, show the consequences of the students' actions, or
give a final hint about what is happening so that they can try to prepare themselves.
After the third term the Director's scene focuses on preparing the end-of-course mission. This mission
is supposed to be part of the final exams, a hands-on Titan piloting test. But if all the anime series and
mecha movies have taught us anything, it's that exams rarely happen as expected. An enemy scout
bursting in the middle of the exam turns a simple test into a fight to the death, a teacher the PCs have
been annoying all year may decide to make life difficult for the students and have the simulations they
are about to face use real fire, a heartbreak during the course may end up in a Titan fight when the NPC
steals a machine and shows up with it right in the final test.
Take advantage of this Principal's scene to introduce the mission and don't be afraid to give it an unex-
pected plot twist, but according to the established fiction.
The conclusion scene is the moment of the game where the Principal ends the course. You can use it to
give a conclusion, as an epilogue, or show something of what is to come as a cliffhanger or post-credits
scene.
In the case of game cons it is recommended to focus on providing an end, since the game is not going
to be continued.
In a campaign a mixture of conclusion and preview of next events is usually a good idea.
In the case of the fourth year the students have graduated and are preparing for their future outside the
Academy, so you will have to give it a worthy closure. Say goodbye to the most relevant NPCs, explain
what's left of the Academy and what awaits them in the world outside the Academy.

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Anyway, let's assume that regardless of the outcome of the mission the students pass and are promoted
to the next grade. Of course, failing the mission has direct consequences in the resolution of the mission
itself, but it should also affect at a narrative level.
Since we assume that even if they fail the mission the students pass, it will be a good way to explain how
they have done in the other exams, or how they have made up anything pending during the summer.

KARMA
Karma is a mechanical tweak to the system that is intended to create a more balanced game play for
everyone by minimizing luck and adjusting the rules regardless of how the game is played.
This implies that if a Player consistently has good luck, the NPCs love them, the PCs are delighted,
and their rolls are so good that they have no negative Traits, the game will penalize them to make
the experience more interesting since it is boring to play when everything goes well and there is no
challenge.
Likewise in the reverse situation. If a Player has bad luck in all their rolls, all the NPCs hate them, the
PCs can't stand them, and on top of that they are stacking negative Traits... when it rains, it pours. The
system is going to give a bonus to this player to make their life easier so that they doesn't lose the
interest to play, because if you know that no matter what you do you won't be able to achieve anything,
it is likely that this Player will lose all interest.
This resonates with anime series tropes and the hero's journey in general. The hero's life is a path
full of conflicts that must be overcome, and we recognize the hero precisely because they overcome
them. Usually not the first time, but that is the mark of the hero, pushing themselves to overcome
adversity.
That in game language is essentially what it means to achieve a partial success. Success with conse-
quence is the hero moving forward despite the odds. That can be found mathematically in the 7-9 range,
which knowing that the average 2d6 is 7, implies that we are looking for the Players to roll with a +1
bonus in general. So NPC bonuses tend to cancel each other out with NPC penalties, and the same goes
for PC bonuses which cancel each other out with penalties. However, students will always be able to
use positive traits and rarely will that cancel out with a negative trait, getting that net +1 we're looking
for on average.
Of course, we add to this the capabilities and resources of the Archetypes, so we move into the upper
zone of partial success. Our heroes, in general, are going to get what they are looking for, although many
times problems will arise along the way.
Karma helps to adjust the mathematics of the game when for some reason players accumulate too
many positive or negative bonuses, returning them to the expected path.
It is not a resource that you assign arbitrarily as Principal, but it is generated in the term scenes eva-
luating the total bonuses of the protagonist student. For every point above +2 the Player gets a negative
Karma (K-), and for every negative point the Player gets a positive Karma (K+).

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As Principal you don't assign Karma for good acting, having good ideas, bringing food to the game
or making everyone laugh. All those behaviors are praiseworthy and positive for the game group,
but rewarding them arbitrarily in a mechanical way would only generate an unfair imbalance. On
one hand, we may think that rewarding positive actions will encourage them, and although this is
true, it may also cause the opposite effect, since the more shy or novice people will see how others
are rewarded for doing something that they are not able to do or may not like doing. On the other
hand, arbitrary rewards change the balance of the rules, and make the game experience different
from one group to another. Let's picture a Principal that awards a lot of K+ points and another one
that hardly gives any, some Players will achieve everything effortlessly and the others will sweat
blood and all because of a subjective decision.
All those positive behaviors for the game group imply a reward on its own. If you bring food ever-
yone eats, if you play in a flashy way you entertain yourself and others, if you have witty ideas you
will see how your student does interesting things in the game... they don't need to be rewarded
mechanically.
Karma points are a rule created to compensate for the imbalances that may appear and try to make
sure that all Players have a comparable game experience.

Players may use K+ to obtain specific benefits in the game.

As Principal you can spend K- points in the following ways:
▶ impose a -1 modifier to a term scene roll.
▶ worsen a relationship one step.
▶ create a new NPC who has a -1▲ relationship with that student.
The roll modifier is announced while the Player is counting their total bonuses, before rolling. It is not
recommended to use it if the total of the roll modifiers already gives a negative balance. This modifier
is applied after calculating the roll limit. That is, if the student has a +4, it is first reduced to +3 since
it is not possible to roll with a higher value, and then the K- is applied leaving the roll modifier at +2.
Worsening a relationship is a resource that you can use at any time, either as a consequence of a term
scene or as part of a Principal's scene.
Like the Players you must justify it in the fiction and be consistent with everything stated previously.

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Keep in mind that in this way you are penalizing the Player more in the long term, since that penalty can
be applied more times, however as it is a relationship score it is an avoidable penalty. The Player can
simply not invite that character to their scenes.
This penalty can be applied to how other PCs or NPCs see the student.
Lastly, you can spend K- to create a new relationship with a negative score directly or to apply a negative
result of -1▲ on an NPC who has just appeared without the need to roll. This will be the NPC's opinion
of the student.
As always, justify your actions as Principal in the fiction.

THE MISSION
For all practical purposes, the end-of-year mission is an additional term with some special rules. This
time, the whole group of students will participate, not just the PCs, the five students who make up the
group and who have been training all the year to operate the Titan.
The preparation of the scene in this case is up to the Principal, who will present it in the previous
Principal's scene. The Players will take turns describing the confrontation, each from their own point of
view according to their position in the Titan and adding details to the scene.
The end-of-course mission is, in theory, the practical combat exam on the Titan. However, for the purpo-
ses of the game it is the final scene of the game where the conflicts that have arisen during the course
will come to light.
Of course you can play a normal exam, but it will always be more interesting to confront the Players with
that other group that has been making their lives miserable, or that an alien invasion erupts just when
they are taking their exam.
Set up the scenario during your Principal's scene and let the Players assign their positions in the Titan.
Then, in order, each Player will add details to the scene according to their position, make the mission roll
and narrate what happened according to the result. The contributions of each Player enrich the scene
and are directly related to their positions, contributing to the Player's interests during the game. The
narration of the events represents the most important moment for that student during that mission.
The only restriction is that no student can finish the scene except the one who holds the position of
leader, which in fact is precisely what they must do.
As with the term scenes, the whole table helps and suggests, providing ideas and suggesting courses
of action. In addition, everyone must ensure the consistency of the events, not only you as Principal.
For NPCs, and there must be at least one NPC in the group, no dice need to be rolled. Check the AI result
and narrate their intervention in the confrontation. Keep in mind that this is a secondary character even
if they are part of the main group, so their performance should not take away the protagonism of the PCs.
Although it's not easy, it may be the case that the group fails in its mission or, even, that the Titan is
destroyed. Don't steal the failure from the Players, just keep it in mind and narrate the conclusion scene
from that. Of course do not destroy the world for this, as you would not be able to play the following
courses. Although if it is the fourth course mission it could be a really dramatic ending.
After the mission close the course with a small scene as a conclusion.

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SUMMER
From the second year onwards, before the beginning of the course, a Summer phase will be carried out.
This phase replaces the preparation and presentation of the first year students.
Follow the structure of the Summer phase seen on page 57.
▶ Summer break.
Adjusts NPCs' relationships with PCs by moving them one step in either direction. In general they
will tend to move closer to the middle ranks (modifiers 0▲ and 0▼), since during the summer tem-
pers cool down, quarrels are forgotten and friendships are disconnected.
If the Players indicate that they intend to maintain some relationship or it makes sense to modify
the relationships otherwise due to the events that occurred during the course, they can be main-
tained at their level, improve or worsen. Of course, no more than one rank. This is also the time
when rivalries evolve or, perhaps, when new rivalries arise. A PC should not have more than one
rival - NPCs who consider the PC as a rival - as this minimizes the narrative effect of the rivalry. If
before the Summer the PC has more than one rival think about how the course has gone and which
of them may cease to be a rival, evolving that relationship in another direction.

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▶ Recovery.
As Principal you have nothing much to do in this phase.
Students may remove a negative Trait they had (not permanent), otherwise they may try to
influence a relationship.
▶ Aging.
Here Players will choose an improvement from their booklet. The first one in the second course, a
second one in the third course, and a third one in the fourth course. Remember that some impro-
vements can only be selected in the last course.
Help the Players with the rules and take note of the improvements to apply them during the
course.
▶ New course preparation.
This is when you give each Player the Goal (or Goals) for their character to achieve in the new
course. See Goals below.
The sheets are prepared by deleting all the advances in curricular abilities, Group Synchronization
or special annual rules such as the Bookworm Pet Project.
In the same way all the counters are returned to the reserve and each Player takes as many as they
are entitled to at the beginning of the course, taking into account possible improvements.
▶ Introductory scenes.
In the same way as it was done in the first course, Players introduce their characters. Showing
everything we have just done on a mechanical level translated into facts within the fiction: rela-
tionships modifications, improvements and Goals.
This way a Player can explain how they has been playing online with their best friend from class
to keep in touch, how they got a new Scholarship that gives them more Influence in the Academy,
and hints at small details of what their Goal might be.
Help the Players with this presentation in order to cover all the highlights without revealing too
much of the Goals.
At the end of the summer interlude the new course begins with a Principal's scene where you can take
the chance to present the plots you have devised for the new course, or the main events that have
occurred.

HIGHER COURSES AND GOALS

While in the first course we focused on introducing the Academy and the characters that make up the
cast of this series, from the second course onwards we will be paying more and more attention to the
plots that have arisen, thus creating a common thread.
That is the purpose of the Goals. Annual objectives of the students that focus the fiction on specific
lines.
From the second year on, the Principal will secretly assign Goals to each student during the summer
interlude.

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This is done in secret so that the rest of the table can be surprised by these lines of action, although
they will be revealed through clues left during the presentation of the new course, and let's not forget
that the Goals arise from the plots already created.

Those Principals who have played other role-playing games will find in the Goals something very
similar to the traditional preparation of adventures for a game. The Game Master analyzing what
has happened in the previous sessions, and thinking how the story can evolve from there.

As we have seen above, Goals have the following structure:

▶ SUDENT: GASIRA

INTRO
Your heart is torn between your rebelliousness and the
affection you have for your classmates. You want to leave
the Academy to spite your family, but you know that if
you leave you will also hurt your friends.

GOAL
Accept your feelings and make a final decision about your
stay in school.

CONSEQUENCES
As long as you do not control your feelings you are at a
disadvantage when connecting to the Titan's systems.

Use the Intro to describe the situation to the Player of the student in question. This is the starting point
you will have used to create the Goal, based on the events from previous courses, and the interests of
the Players.
The purpose of the Goal is to explore those plots and turn them into important points of the next game
session.
The Goal is the mission to be accomplished by the student. A task to be completed during the course
that will take the place of a main Objective during a term scene. Design the Goals as specific Objectives
of a scene, instead of the usual ones of raising a Curricular Ability or improving Synchronization.

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Anything can be the objective of a Goal, however remember that at the end of the day the term scenes
represent the most important event for that student during the term, so a Goal should be worthy of
being the most significant event for that student during the term.
You may include additional restrictions on the Goal, such as having to be resolved in a specific term,
before a specific one, or from a specific one onwards. Including specific NPCs in the scene may also be
part of the Goal. It is not advisable to overuse restrictions in the Goals, and in general it is advisable to
keep them as straightforward as possible without external dependencies. Try to make the Goal objective
an action within the fiction: discovering who has stolen the plans of the experimental Titan, becoming
a leader of the student council or deciding between a pair of suitors are examples of possible Goals.
Linking the Goal to a mechanical element such as "Raise your Combat Maneuvers Curricular Ability to 2"
or "Get the kendo champion to have a +1 bonus with you" is not advisable, as you are forcing the Player
to first fulfill the constraint and then attempt the goal. Much more interesting "Amaze your teammates
with your piloting skills" or "Defeat the kendo champion in a fair duel".
Of course, the achievement of the Goal will depend on the term roll so a failure indicates that it has
not been achieved.
Consequences are the penalties that the student suffers as long as they do not fulfill their objective.
Usually the equivalent of having disadvantage in the end of course mission roll. Representing main
elements in the student's story, the Player has the whole course to achieve it, and if not, the student is
unfocused, which is precisely what represents this penalty in the end-of-course mission.
Other possible consequences are not being able to perform scenes of a certain type or not being able
to invite more than one character to their scenes. Consequences should not incapacitate the charac-
ter, and the Player should be able not only to play but also to succeed in all their scenes despite the
Consequences.
Your task as Principal is to provide an interesting Goal the Player wants to play in order to grow their
character. Consequences are an additional incentive for trying to achieve that Goal, but it is much more
important to encourage through story interest than to seek huge penalties that the Players want to
avoid.
If the detail of a Goal and/or the actions to be taken reveal too many details of the plot, its delivery
can be delayed to maintain suspense. However, as the Goals are secret it is advisable to give all players
their Goals, even when the objective is "to be revealed later". In this way all Players have Goals but no
unnecessary details have been revealed.

If you are planning an invasion from Gioka's dimension as a special third term mission you don't
want the Players to know about it ahead of time. At the beginning of the course you will give her
Player a blank Goal stating "At the beginning of the second quarter I will explain your Goal".
When the second quarter begins you give her the Goal in which you inform she has received secret
information about her dimension of origin. Her scene should be the last of the second quarter, a
necessary constraint to keep the mystery going until the end. If she succeeds the whole group will
have a +1 during that special mission, the Consequence being precisely not having that +1.

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The number of Goals depends on the course:

▶ First course: during the first course students do not receive Goals. It is enough for the students to
get accustomed to the Academy.
▶ Second course: an annual Goal (which will force them to lose at least 1 term) and the penalty in the
final mission if the goal is not met as the most common consequence.

Consequence: you have disadvantage in the end-of-course mission roll if you do not achieve
your goal.

▶ Third course: an annual Goal and a surprise mission at the end of the second term. One of the
Goals should involve helping to prepare the students for this mission (for example by uncovering
a plot), so that everyone has a +1 on that mission, which minimizes the difficulty of playing the
mission ahead of time. If none of the Goals seem appropriate to relate to this unexpected mission
give them the +1 and justify it within the fiction.
This is independent of the end-of-course mission.
▶ Fourth course: two annual Goals, and therefore 2 terms devoted to them. The characters' skills in
4th year should compensate for this inability to raise normally the Curricular Abilities. Both goals
must be met in order to avoid the penalty in the end-of-year mission.
Goals are plot hooks for the course being played and are resolved in one way or another in the course
itself. Goals are not retained from one course to the next.

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 Refe rences

REFERENCES
Ideas don't come out of a vacuum, and Academia TITÁN draws from many sources. Here are some of the
most relevant ones that have influenced the creation of this game.

FILMS
▶ The Harry Potter saga is the main inspiration for the course format. Each year the students face
new problems, with an initial focus on the classes, but developing those problems further and
further so that the classes end up taking a back seat as the saga progresses.
▶ Pacific Rim is the cinematic reference for anything related to mechas and kaijus, especially if we
talk about controlling mechas with several pilots.

SERIES
▶ Robotech is the mecha anime by excellence. Of course, there will be those who prefer the original
series (Macross) or Gundam. Both of them are highly recommended if you like the mecha genre.
▶ Freezing is a good example of the problems that can arise in high school and the importance of
collaboration to produce effects.
▶ Darling in the FranXX focuses on learning and the problems of adolescence.

COMICS
▶ The New Mutants, and all of Marvel's teen mutant series, especially when they focus on school life.
▶ My Hero Academy is an approach to the superhero genre as seen by a mangaka. A twist on the
genre.

ROLE PLAYING GAMES

▶ The episodic format and narrative structure of Academia TITÁN is entirely inspired by Shinobigami,
a Japanese teenage ninja game.
▶ The Watch served as inspiration for the scene resolution system.
▶ The relationship matrix is taken almost exactly from Tenra Bansho Zero.
▶ The inspiration for the asymmetrical archetypes was "stolen" from Mahō Shōjo.

BOARD GAMES
▶ Battletech's setting is another essential reference of the mecha genre.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Academia TITÁN is a game made with lots of help:
▶ My playgroups, who had to endure my ideas in their most early stages and helped to shape them:
Rubén Saldaña, Alberto Camargo, Gonzo Bríos, Alfonso Marcos, Raquel Cano, Rebeca Omaña, Noa
Iglesias and Ismael Iglesias.
▶ The players who joined my games at cons and helped me to see what was working and what
needed to be changed.
To all of you who are reading these lines, thank you very much.

And, of course, I can't miss out on naming all the Kickstarter backers who made it possible.
Reish Alpo
xosesinho Pau Blackonion
Fran Romero Vlad Temper
Jorge Lemus Matt Gray
Norelwen Mandroo
JoseMi Hernández Llorenç Foixench
David Guerra Rodrigo Orozco
Juan nitensan
RJ Ruthven Jokin García
Kaede Gabriel García-Soto
Ruben "Ezkardan" Furikae_PNJ
Was Aaricia
Ernesto "Eslizogato" Diezhandino Marcos Arnáiz
John Taber
Alex Adams Blanca Santamaría
Pablo Fontanilla Kawa_Index
Sandrine FOUNGUI Ray
RolerodelaMancha Ricardo Fuente
josemasaga Ethan Remkes
Domingo Guzmán Vélez Roberto Alhambra
Rafael José Pardo Macías Pepe
Carmen y Lukar Guille Ortega
Lapp el Mago Nicolas (Neuch) Decomble
Rubén Astudillo Marina de santiago
Natxo Abal Oscar Gulías
Rodrigo García Carmona Ryan Bell
Matt Penn Stef Schwartz
Narciso OsW de Aragón
ron beck Ebest
Grumpy Néstor "NeeKun" Villarrubia García-Parra
Paco Miranda Marchal (Balthan) Kinstorm
Alfonso Marcos Greatkithain
David Tejadas Sean Leventhal
Jesús Chavero Imani J Dean
Sugaar Editorial Otsumo

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 Acknowle d gements

JP Dracoreth
Aleherse Lionrae
Dave Agnew Tatxu
MálagaQuest Egoitz Gago
Mirella Machancoses Xabier Ugalde
Corey Davies Khayloth
Angel Luis (AL) Adrián Viedma
Doug G Miguel Arnaiz
Daniel Benitez Sergio Rebollo "Tersoal"
Balmus DetectiveAzul
Dani Lorente Jorge Poderoso
Berneth Liehna
Ury&Pat zupe
Lobo Blanco Dennettlander
Alice « Annagramme » Turquet Akerraren Adarrak
Andrés Fuentes Ramón mansalva
Juan "Ramba Ral" Marquez Alfonso Junquera
Peonidas @Sandychan_n
Mogu Corneja
Edgar Álvaro De Lamo Pérez
K. Sara Berger Alex Pacios (Drulax)
G. Lauzon Javier "Intkhiladi" Escajedo
Sihi-chan Kevin R-T
Inbar FM Iohannan Schiller
Gilen Łukasz Matylla
Ayleron Brightstar Kenshin
Stras "Pilot of Whiskey Thunder" Acimovic Ismael D. Sacaluga
Sanvi KURAGARi
Audrey L Lukas Myhan
Alverick Jackson Brantley
Salva Campoy Rrok Anrolle
jmondejar Benjamin "BlackLotos" Welke
Xosé M. Marcote “Penta”. Shane Martin DeNota-Hoffman
Jarrod Farquhar-Nicol PuntaEFlecha
Patrick Knowles & Tyler Lominack Nacho Muñiz
Lyra Ealerys
HIROMI Nix
Rizdon Suns
Liath Adrián Carrizo Pérez
Sergi Planas -Mosquetero- Jesse Newsom
Pedro(Te) Lu Pozzo
Richard J. Rogers Flavio "Grumpy Bear" Mortarino
Meigallo Michael Schwartz
OzBezerius Slorder
Ángela (@hatterms) Esteban de la Peña
lardas Ale
Ari (arimagic) Carlos de la Cruz
Steven Hanlon DRO
Fausto, Roleros con Sombrero Noah Abeyta

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 AC AD EMI A T I T ÁN

MEETING KAWA
A PIECE OF ADVICE
Hi, I'm Kawa_Index, the illustrator of the book/pdf you're looking at. I want to begin by taking the oppor-
tunity to give a piece of advice to everyone:
Cheat...
Quoting Mr. Burns, "... some are born smart, some are born physically skilled, and those of us who have
neither of those must resort to cheating."
Now seriously. What I really mean is that when you are asked for something that will help decide whe-
ther you join a project you want to participate in, the trick is to offer more than expected. I've done it
several times, and I guarantee it works.
If they ask for a budget, add a sketch. If they ask for a sketch, deliver two. If they want a simple expla-
nation text, add a cool graphic design, with evocative images and matching fonts.
This is technically cheating, because if they ask for X you should limit yourself to that, but if you want
to win, then deliver X+Y. Simple.
This is not to say "work twice as hard and for free" this is just a tip for getting in, for standing out and
being noticed.
That's how I became involved in this cool project.
I was asked for a budget and I did it... and 4 cover sketches too.

USEFULNESS OF ART
There is an online debate whether TTRPGs should be illustrated or not. One side claims that pictures
are not strictly necessary for the game, the important thing is the text, and this way the cost of the game
is reduced.
In a certain sense they are right, all their arguments are fair. But I think they grab just a "snapshot of the
scene" that leaves out of the picture a lot of details.
1. "Don't judge a book by its cover". We all have heard this advice and it would be great to follow,
yet we are beings driven by visual stimuli and a good cover helps to catch the attention of the
potential reader, thus increasing the likelihood of a purchase. So that is already a good enough
reason to have at least one illustration.

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 ME E T I NG KAWA

2. Source of inspiration. Not everyone has a great imagination, sometimes people need visual ele-
ments to help them understand the theme we are working with. We all think about the aesthetics
of some movies if we say that our game is set in space, but there are plenty of styles that we can
try to emulate. Alien the 8th Passenger, The 5th Element, Moebius art, the Gundam saga, the Star
Wars enealogy or the huge Warhammer 40k universe are examples of how aesthetically different
a space future could be. The visual support provided by the art helps focus the tone of the game
that the author wants to imprint on his work.
3. Eye rest. People don't have to understand graphic design, but a wall of text that fills the whole
page is taxing for the eyes and should only be accepted for novel format. Illustrations, white space,
double columns, etc. all contribute to make reading more pleasant and make it easier to find the
page you are looking for. Or have you never found your way through the pages of a book thanks to
its drawings? E.g. "...this picture is from the weapons section, the magic goes after, no this picture
here is about monsters, the magic goes before."
4. Promotion of culture. And what the heck, artists like to eat too.

MY CREATIVE PROCESS
I like to show my clients all the steps I am going through to avoid them demanding big changes at the
end and causing delays. I know this takes away the magic of finding the drawing 100% finished, but it
adds to the magic of seeing how the machine works under the hood.
My process is simple and I divide it into 9 phases.
Idea, Sketch, Lineart, Base Color, Background, Shadows, Highlights, Effects.
▶ Idea. As seen on a previous page, you work first with several ideas of what the cover will look like.
Plans, number of characters, desired message to convey, etc. There are many decisions to consider.
▷ In this case we focus on the fact that the protagonists of the game are the characters, so we
center the scene on them.
▷ We decided to use 3 instead of the 5 suggested by the game for several reasons. First, because
with a large number of characters the protagonism always falls on someone, and we didn't want
any character to stand out above the rest, and second, there were 3 patrons who contributed the
most to the project, so we decided that their characters would be the ones that would appear
on the cover.
▷ To divide the protagonism we distributed the characters in a circle/triangle, with the girl in the
center, but her torso does not look at the camera. We give the little guy the most confident pose,
the typical one a protagonist would have, and dress in the combat suit the one who looks most
like the protagonist trope so he loses integrity and prominence.
▷ We place a detail of a Mecha that the game is about as a background, just a detail, one or two
feet is appropriate.
▷ And as a counterweight of the illustration we place at the bottom of it the title of the game
integrated in the scene.

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 AC AD EMI A T I T ÁN

▷ Sketch. References are very important for an artist,

and anyone who says otherwise has no idea what
they are talking about. I was once given the worst
advice an artist can be given: "if you're not able to
draw a sheep from memory, you're not an artist"...
Why would I want to draw a sheep from memory? Am
I going to have to draw so many sheep in my life that
I have to draw them from memory? NO. That's what
references are for, instead learn by heart what you
ARE going to draw a lot.

▷ Lineart. The usual practice is to put all the creativity into the sketch and leave the lines as a
boring "tracing" process. That's why the "soul" of a drawing is in the sketch. On the contrary my
sketches are poorly defined, shapes and ideas that I let pile up to add the "soul" in the linework,
that's why it's my favorite part of the creative process.
▷ Base color. From heaven into hell. The most monotonous and mechanical part, it's simply filling
the shapes with color. Boring but necessary. Many times a good linework "dies" because of
adding color. We gradually move away from the "soul" of the drawing (the sketch) and a certain
life is lost in the work.
▷ Lights and shadows. It's good to understand the volume of things and visualize how light affects
them. Knowing how to draw volume correctly is basically that... and Color Theory, and Light
Theory, and knowing how different materials react to light, and I guess a few other things ^_^U

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▷ Background. I don't like to make backgrounds... nor robots (look where I got myself into hahaha)
As a general rule I don't like to make backgrounds because the backgrounds I like to see are the
ones made with "shapes", like those of Studio Ghibli for example. On the other hand, my style
uses the line as the central axis. These are the two great methods of making art, through large
brush strokes that must be "polished" until you find the drawing, or through a lot of crazy lines
that end up having the shape you are looking for. Changing from one mentality to another is
always annoying, but in the end it is stimulating.
▷ Effects. Surprisingly the final step is the one that requires the least effort and can provide the
best results. A "dead" work can be brought back to life if we apply enough filters. Dramatic con-
trasts, fog, motion blur, particles, darkened edges, chromatic aberration... I simply applied some
atmospheric perspective and contrast to make the characters stand out a bit more and voila!

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