Armour Astir: Advent

Armour Astir: Advent is a high-fantasy mecha TTRPG where rebel pilots and support characters fight an oppressive Authority with magic-powered machines called Astirs. It is Powered by the Apocalypse, but its table identity is more specific than "PbtA with mechs": the game cares about pilots, carriers, rebel cells, diplomats, soldiers, spies, rival aces, faction pressure, downtime, and the messy politics around a Cause.

Choose it when your group wants mecha anime stakes without defaulting to grid combat or engineering build puzzles. Armour Astir is about dramatic missions, hard choices, relationships under pressure, and a war that keeps moving between sorties.

What You Need To Play

The official itch.io page offers the paid digital edition, play materials, and a free basic version with the rules but without art. A physical hardback edition is also sold through Nerves, following a successful 2024 Kickstarter that brought the game to print.

The current base game incorporates material from Armour Astir: Encore and the optional romance-focused Amor Astir material, according to the official product page. That makes the current edition a stronger standalone recommendation than an older summary might imply: pilots, support characters, machine customization, faction procedures, and extra relationship tools are all part of the current package.

How It Plays

Characters are split broadly between Channelers, who pilot Astirs, and Support characters, who keep the rebellion alive through command, diplomacy, logistics, intelligence, and direct action outside the cockpit. Playbooks give the game a clear class-based shape, while custom Astirs and playbook options let each player define a distinctive role in the Cause.

The combat system is fiction-first, but it is not weightless. Range, scale, approaches, enemy pressure, danger, burdens, and the question of when a foe becomes truly defenseless all matter. Armour Astir therefore sits in a useful middle ground for TTRPG Games: more tactical and procedure-rich than many relationship-drama games, but less equipment-crunchy than Lancer or other build-forward mecha games.

Campaign Structure

Armour Astir is strongest as a campaign game. The Conflict Turn gives the wider war a recurring rhythm, so missions do not exist in isolation. Downtime, damaged relationships, political pressure, and limited resources carry forward between operations. The result is a game for groups that want their rebellion to feel like an ongoing front rather than a string of unrelated fights.

It can support a focused short arc, but it is not primarily a one-shot pick. A table gets more out of the game when the Authority, the Cause, major factions, rival pilots, support crew, and personal bonds have time to develop.

Table Fit

Armour Astir is a good fit for groups that like PbtA moves, ensemble drama, high-fantasy stakes, and political conflict. It especially helps players who want a mecha game where soldiers, engineers, diplomats, handlers, and spies matter as much as the people in the machines.

It is a weaker fit for a group looking for map-first tactical combat, hard science-fiction military detail, solo play, or a low-context one-shot. Review discussion around the game is generally enthusiastic, but the recurring caution is that the rules vocabulary and layout can feel dense. A Director should be ready to help the table internalize terms and shape the setting premise together.

Content And Safety

The default premise involves rebellion, authoritarian power, war, peril, damaged relationships, and dramatic violence. The tone can be bright, romantic, tragic, or revolutionary depending on the group, but the game is built around characters pushing back against institutional force. Safety tools and a clear conversation about the Authority, the Cause, romance, and wartime content are a practical part of setup.

Why It Belongs On TTRPG Games

Armour Astir fills a clear gap: a standalone fantasy-mecha PbtA game with free playable rules, a paid digital edition, a print edition, visible community interest, and useful comparison value against Beam Saber, Lancer, and Girl by Moonlight. It gives TTRPG Games a better answer for readers searching for mecha TTRPGs that are political, magical, and relationship-driven rather than purely tactical or hardware-focused.

Research Notes

Last checked August 27, 2026. Sources checked include the official itch.io page, the Nerves hardback listing, the Kickstarter hardback campaign page, Foundry VTT package listing, Geek Native coverage, The Gauntlet interview episode, and independent review commentary from The Playful Void.