Forgotten RPGs

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Yeah, the cover is what initially sold me on it.

And I was on a pulp kick at the time.

And I guess I'm blind, because I was going back through this topic and saw you had posted a pic of the cover earlier.
 
And I guess I'm blind, because I was going back through this topic and saw you had posted a pic of the cover earlier.

I totally forgot I previously talked about it in this thread as well, must have been a few months back
 
I wrote a very extensive review, my first ever review of an RPG. And it was not kind. Unfortunately it was on my very first Webpage (Alta-Vista baby!) , long since swallowed up by the internet, the same with the reproduction of it on my MySpace page...
Have you tried finding it on archive.org? I've used it to recover text from an old website.

And then lost it again intentionally because I grew out of writing fanfiction.
 
I played Orbit and Zero, the former was a very playable setting with an awful system, the latter fell apart after a few sessions because of the grim and boring setting - once the characters escaped the scenario ideas were very uninspiring.
 
Late to the party but a few of my favorite "forgotten" RPGs:

Albedo. Not a fan of furry stuff as a rule, but the comic this is based on is top-notch. Reminds me of a furry Traveller in some ways. Heavy emphasis on interpersonal relations. The game itself is a tad clunky but serviceable. I've never managed to get it to the table, despite having all the stuff. Most people (well, the type of people I want to associate with, anyway) immediately turn away from furry anything.

Hong Kong Action Theatre! Lightweight game meant to emulate everything from the Heroic Bloodshed films of the late 80s/early 90s to classic Wuxia movies. There were several contributors to the line, but I think this was the brainchild of the infamous Gareth Michael Skarka. That having been said, I have a soft spot for this one. Not only in terms of nostalgia, but because it kicked off an interest in Asian cinema that persists to this day. Mechanically, it works, bit it always felt incomplete somehow. I really wish this had gotten a proper second edition (the Tri-Stat version is a whole different game as far as I'm concerned), I think it could have been great. I recently ordered some of the books because nostalgia. Including the stand-alone Wuxia spin-off, Swords of the Middle Kingdom. I may try a one-shot of this. The game is a MASSIVE love letter to the Hong Kong film industry, and you can learn a thing or two from it as well. Production values are not great, but most of the illustrations are HK movie stills, which is nice.

Prime Directive, the original Task Force Games version. The Tricode System is an overlooked gem of game design. Character generation is too long and complex IMO. But it's the only thing I'd use to run a Star Trek game, even though it's not "canon".
 
Prime Directive, the original Task Force Games version. The Tricode System is an overlooked gem of game design. Character generation is too long and complex IMO. But it's the only thing I'd use to run a Star Trek game, even though it's not "canon".


Would like to hear more about the "Tricode system"
 
Would like to hear more about the "Tricode system"

Here's a read-through I never finished, but it will give you a decent overview of the core mechanic. I'll finish it... one of these days.

Edit: I need to replace those pictures, as well. The image host I was using lost two years' worth of data.
 
Here's where the core mechanic discussion starts...
 
Here's where the core mechanic discussion starts...


I've started from the beginning. When I get to where you trail off, I'll start pestering you to finish...
 
I had a roommate in college that ran a few sessions of that and we had a lot of fun. Had totally forgotten about it until you mentioned it.

I remember it being super easy to run. I'm really looking forward to seeing Swords of the Middle Kingdom, it's the only book I didn't have BITD. Plus, I've become more interested in the Wuxia stuff, whereas before I was mainly interested in Woo/Lam/Hark style gunplay. I can't find a copy of the HKAT! core book though. Thinking about hitting up some owners on rpggeek to see who might want to sell one. Its a shot in the dark, but tbh that's how I finished my Recon 1e collection. Just slidin' into peoples' DMs, asking to buy their shit.
 
Five pages and no images of Waste World? Come on!

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Written by William "Bill" King, produced in Prague, with a double page spread by Philippe Druillet. Dinosaurs with guns and ninjas with lightsabers. Rifts feels like a Nouvelle vague french movie when compared to Waste World. It's the 2000AD comic rpg with the serial number filed off.

It's awesome, you can grab a copy of the main book for a song these days. The two supplements can be a bit more pricey (especially the second one), but you're good with the main book.
 
Five pages and no images of Waste World? Come on!

681.jpg


Written by William "Bill" King, produced in Prague, with a double page spread by Philippe Druillet. Dinosaurs with guns and ninjas with lightsabers. Rifts feels like a Nouvelle vague french movie when compared to Waste World. It's the 2000AD comic rpg with the serial number filed off.

It's awesome, you can grab a copy of the main book for a song these days. The two supplements can be a bit more pricey (especially the second one), but you're good with the main book.
How's the system?
 
I thought someone had already posted that.

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It's a point buy classless system; four stats, rated -3 - +5 (skills rated 1-9 and rated by difficulty). Rolls are d20 +/- mods. 10+ is a success. Serviceable, and we played for a while when I first got it.
 
I thought someone had already posted that.



It's a point buy classless system; four stats, rated -3 - +5 (skills rated 1-9 and rated by difficulty). Rolls are d20 +/- mods. 10+ is a success. Serviceable, and we played for a while when I first got it.


Sadly, my books are in that condition because I had to acquire all once it was OOP, second hand. I wish I had books in that good shape! Dang!
 
How's the system?

To add a few precisions to what was said above, Psi powers (=magic, really, you have a teleportation power, take that Xavier!) have three tiers, becoming more powerful as you gain skill points in them (success is not automatic). You're only out of ammo when you roll a 1 on your attack die.

Chargen is a bit fiddly/Gurps-like but very easy to adapt to your taste and allows for very varied characters (want to create Rogue Trooper, Hammerstein or Nemesis ? The game has you covered).

Another game I don't think I've seen above:

4162.jpg


You're an anthropmorphic animal, slave of the corporation that created you. Sent to explore/pacify distant worlds, each successful mission allows you to buy back your way to freedom from your corporate masters. I think there was a "recent" german edition but don't quote me on that.

If I remember correctly, the system is percentile based and quite simple.
 
To add a few precisions to what was said above, Psi powers (=magic, really, you have a teleportation power, take that Xavier!) have three tiers, becoming more powerful as you gain skill points in them (success is not automatic). You're only out of ammo when you roll a 1 on your attack die.

Chargen is a bit fiddly/Gurps-like but very easy to adapt to your taste and allows for very varied characters (want to create Rogue Trooper, Hammerstein or Nemesis ? The game has you covered).

Another game I don't think I've seen above:

4162.jpg


You're an anthropmorphic animal, slave of the corporation that created you. Sent to explore/pacify distant worlds, each successful mission allows you to buy back your way to freedom from your corporate masters. I think there was a "recent" german edition but don't quote me on that.

If I remember correctly, the system is percentile based and quite simple.
How dare you say this is forgotten!!! Good sir this is an absolute favorite of this site and well known. I know this because I decided that was true!

It's one of my favorite world's I can never find players for.
 
Sadly, my books are in that condition because I had to acquire all once it was OOP, second hand. I wish I had books in that good shape! Dang!

I'm a bit OCD about my books (and a bit is being generous). If I used something, I bought two (or three in the case of Rolemaster) and if I have them in bad condition, it's probably because they came out of the bad old days when designers were angsty and bindings were terrible.
 
I'm a bit OCD about my books (and a bit is being generous). If I used something, I bought two (or three in the case of Rolemaster) and if I have them in bad condition, it's probably because they came out of the bad old days when designers were angsty and bindings were terrible.

Oh yeah, totally me too. I just wish I could find better replacements, or enough money to buy better copies.
 
Part 9 in my new Forgotten Games series on my blog.

The story on the Twilight Imperium RPG is that Christian T. Petersen (creator of Twilight Imperium and former owner of FFG) didn't have any time to spend on it, so the writers basically made up a bunch of. When Petersen saw the finished book he reportedly hated it and the whole thing was essentially binned.
 
4162.jpg


You're an anthropmorphic animal, slave of the corporation that created you. Sent to explore/pacify distant worlds, each successful mission allows you to buy back your way to freedom from your corporate masters. I think there was a "recent" german edition but don't quote me on that.

If I remember correctly, the system is percentile based and quite simple.

I remember something from a few years ago that someone was trying to secure the rights for a new edition. I don't know if anything ever came of that.

Yes, it's a percentage system. I recall thinking it was overly complicated BitD, but that was because I wasn't allowed to reference the rulebook and the GM wasn't terribly good at explaining anything. I remember it as a sea of never ending percentiles, but in reality, it's relatively simple and straightforward for a late 80s game.

You get a better illusion of customization in TMNT. But if everyone has a copy of the Justifiers rulebook, then it's probably easier to get a Justifiers game going. Regardless, the premise of Justifiers works well to transport to a TMNT game.
 
The story on the Twilight Imperium RPG is that Christian T. Petersen (creator of Twilight Imperium and former owner of FFG) didn't have any time to spend on it, so the writers basically made up a bunch of. When Petersen saw the finished book he reportedly hated it and the whole thing was essentially binned.

You can still find it on ebay, though IMO it's not worth it- especially as the prices are still relatively high. Edge Studios might be making a new version in the Genesys system.
 
Oh, yeah, I love Justifiers. Its fun, but chargen is a pain. The sourcebook that allows hybrids is fun as well. Your parents were /what/? Makes for interesting combos.
 
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Has Other Suns been mentioned?

When I was first getting into RPGs, there were a couple people on the old RECFRP FidoNet board that were gung-ho for Other Suns: They ran PbEM games, shared their hacks and home rules for it, and often used examples from their home campaigns (which had probably been running for close to a decade at that point) in discussions. It led me to believe that the game was a MUCH bigger deal in the RPG hobby than it turned out to be.
 
Another rpg that my college roommate had was Renegade Legion: Legionnaire. I have not really seen anyone online talk about it much.

Renegade Legion as a whole just seemed to land with a thud. It was so hyped. Then Interceptor dropped and the collective reaction seems to have been "meh."

I remember seeing Legionnaire unexpectedly in a shop BitD, but that was well after Renegade Legion was more or less forgotten. For years, I kicked myself for not picking it up. At least I have a copy now.
 
Has Other Suns been mentioned?

When I was first getting into RPGs, there were a couple people on the old RECFRP FidoNet board that were gung-ho for Other Suns: They ran PbEM games, shared their hacks and home rules for it, and often used examples from their home campaigns (which had probably been running for close to a decade at that point) in discussions. It led me to believe that the game was a MUCH bigger deal in the RPG hobby than it turned out to be.

I don't think it has been mentioned. I've long been curious about this game as it often gets mentioned when there's discussion about Worlds Beyond (due to the BRP-like systems). I've never seen a copy of it and never met anyone who actually owned it though.
 
I don't think it has been mentioned. I've long been curious about this game as it often gets mentioned when there's discussion about Worlds Beyond (due to the BRP-like systems). I've never seen a copy of it and never met anyone who actually owned it though.
I have a copy. I also had Worlds Beyond. I don't remember getting rid of Worlds Beyond but for the life of me I can't find it. I know I had it open since we moved into this house. I dunno, maybe it fell down behind a bookcase or something...

I don't think I ever tried to play Other Suns and really haven't done much of anything with it, I've mostly kept it because one time I tried to run RuneQuest in space and having a full RQ/BRP inspired SFRPG peaked my interest.
 
I don't think it has been mentioned. I've long been curious about this game as it often gets mentioned when there's discussion about Worlds Beyond (due to the BRP-like systems). I've never seen a copy of it and never met anyone who actually owned it though.
I have it. I think it's a BRP sci fi game with the serial numbers filed off RE: BRP.
 
I remember something from a few years ago that someone was trying to secure the rights for a new edition. I don't know if anything ever came of that.

Last I checked (a long time ago in 2003) the project was between the hands of Jason Blair (author of Little Fears) Source.

"JUSTIFIERS: OMEGA EDITION is slated for release in Summer 2004".... But there was a german version released in 2010.

I did a Savage Worlds conversion at the time (which is sitll lying somewhere on a hard drive).
 
Had Other Suns, was hunting Legionnaire down at one time, because I loved the space combat system, but well, grew out of that phase of way way to complex gaming.
 
Got my copy of Swords of the Middle Kingdom. First time laying eyes on it. It's over three hundred pages. Looks like it's basically Hong Kong Action Theatre!, with some tweaks. Just skimmed it so far, but it looks good.

The cover image, if I'm not mistaken, is from Wong Kar-Wai's excellent Ashes of Time. Which is more art house than action, but incredible nonetheless. Protip: track down the original cut. The "Redux" is straight dookie.

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Renegade Legion as a whole just seemed to land with a thud. It was so hyped. Then Interceptor dropped and the collective reaction seems to have been "meh."

I remember seeing Legionnaire unexpectedly in a shop BitD, but that was well after Renegade Legion was more or less forgotten. For years, I kicked myself for not picking it up. At least I have a copy now.

I think that most had gotten into Battletech, and the mechs won the day. I loved Renegade Legion a lot more- played a combined game with Prefect, and it was one of the best things ever.
 
Extreme Vengeance!

I have a copy I got for 5 bucks at Half Price Books. It's available as a $5 PDF from Paizo, BTW. Reminds me of a stripped down Hong Kong Action Theatre!. In fact, the creators of Extreme Vengeance wanted to use the term "CINEMACTION" for their system, but the makers of HKAT! were already using it.
 
I wouldn't really call that dead or forgotten since it's still for sale on DTRPG.
That's a fairly recent change. Until the last year or two it was out of print entirely. It's status in the whole WotC saga sure helps it from being completely forgotten.
 
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