Mechs in ION Heart come in all shapes and sizes. From agile mechs designed to speedily travel unnoticed between locations, to lumbering behemoths built to carry heavy loads. There is not limit to what mech technology has been adapted to in the Astral Union.


Mech technology has also been adapted by different inhabitants of the Astral Union to suit their personal needs. Whilst any pilot can bond with any mech some find it easier to pilot mechs which have been designed for them specifically. The Kirvae for example have a selection of 4 legged mechs with many adapted to amplify the pilot's psionic abilities.

Ready to build your own mech? Come join us in the Astral Union if you haven't already and grab your copy of ION Heart on Backerkit here. If you haven't tried the demo you can also get a copy through the Backerkit page! We'll be back with more updates soon.

Ben has been working on some concepts for some of our book upgrades that you've all been busy unlocking with ION Heart's stretch goals! We were inspired by many gorgeous pieces of work by other publishers to be adventurous with our production on ION Heart and are really excited to make the book as stunning an artefact as possible.

This edge printing isn't the final design but shows what we're aiming for on the final books! If you haven't pledged for your copy yet don't miss out on your ticket for adventure amongst the stars. Pledge on Backerkit here.

As part of our celebration for ION Heart's launch on Backerkit we're running some contests where you can win some extra goodies to go along with your pledges! Our first contest will give you a chance to win an original piece of ION Heart artwork!

CONTEST #1: Ion HeArt:
Share artwork of your future mech on social media alongside a link to the Backerkit and the words "#IonHeart" for a chance to win an original piece of artwork by game designer and award winning artist, Ben Alexander!

Be sure to email your submissions and "proof of posting" to the Parable Games contest email (below) No AI art (assisted or generated) will be considered eligible for this contest.

You Have Until the 16th of August to enter.
 
Backerkit Link: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/parable-games/ion-heart-a-cozy-solo-mech-ttrpg?ref=contest

Parable Games Contest Email: [email protected]

For more information visit the Parable Games Discord and head to the #contests channel!

We also wanted to take the time today to shine some light on some of our friends in the UK who are also publishing incredible books. Slightly Reckless Games have knocked it out the park with Berserkr, a world where Norse mythology collides with the raw, gritty mechanics of MÖRK BORG.
  
They've absolutely crushed it over on Kickstarter so if OSR or Norse themes are your flavour of choice in TTRPG's make sure to check it out here. 

We’ve built a rocket out of cardboard boxes and old coke bottles and filled it with jet fuel. Now to strap an award winning TTRPG creator to it and blast him off into the Astral Union.

We’re very excited to announce that Tim Roberts from Critical Kit will be joining us as a guest writer on ION Heart. He’s created a number of amazing solo game including the award winning Be Like A Crow, Be Like A Cat, D666 to name but a few.

We’re hoping that time won’t be alone on his interstellar voyage. We’d love to strap some more TTRPG creators to the rocket for a little jaunt amongst the stars. Grab your copy now here to aid us in our insane TTRPG space race.

Corporations aren’t good actors; putting profit ahead of sapient wellbeing is always a net negative. The Astral Union, in which ION Heart is set, is a peaceful but not perfect society. There will always be groups with vested interests in gathering capital at the expense of all else.

There are countless corporations featured in ION Heart that are up to no good in about any way you can imagine. Ecological destruction, technological sabotage and even attempting to incite conflict in the current galactic peace are just a few of their dodgy clandestine activities. Here are a few notable large corporations in the Astral Union.

Dragnoss Industries: Holds the sole contract to produce the Heriot Class mech, and has a particular focus on ‘defence’ contracting and experimental mech alterations. AU citizens may have heard of this, but likely just know them for ‘making mechs’ without knowing how nefarious and militaristic they are.


Ipcriss Executive Outcomes: Notable for creating the template for the mass-produced Zenef defence mech. They insist that all their products are for use in ‘essential self protection’ out on the galactic frontiers, but they seem surprisingly popular with mercenaries, pirates and malcontents.


Enveloper Holdings: This corp likes to hoover up smaller companies and has a particular fondness for establishing ‘company towns’ where it can monitor its employees' lives. AU citizens

have likely heard of its subsidiaries, which at any time are often not far away from being assets-stripped and closed down for tax purposes.

Want to dig in deeper to the shady corporate dealings in the Astral Union? The Mech’s Toolkit contains a charter detailing many more corporations and their activities as well as business cards and other info. You can get yours on Backerkit if you've not joined us in the Astral Union yet!