Forgotten RPGs

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we've had entire threads about Hillfolk on the Pub recently
Yes, but I had to include it in order to quote the list exactly. That's another guy's opinion about which games are rare and obscure, which IMO deserves to be quoted even of one or two might be familiar to Pub goers.

I backed Hillfolk way back when, so I obviously don't consider it a rare and obscure game:shade:.
 
Simian Conquest... I remember seeing that one...

On Hillfolk, one thing to consider is that many obscure RPGs will have a critical mass of fans on some forum out there, and thus on that forum they won't seem forgotten, yet on many other forums, no one has even heard of the game.

It makes it hard to have an objective measure of what counts as "forgotten" even outside the trickiness of determining what a general definition should be, like should well known, but no longer in print, and rarely played games count?

For the games posted here, I'd love to see more blurbs on what made the game possibly interesting or what made it so horrid it died forgotten.
 
Heroes%2Band%2BHeroines.jpg


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There used to be (and may still be) a half-dozen or more copies of this--as well as the three sourcebooks (Deathwatch 2000 and Comic's [sic] Greatest World being the other two)--on the bargain shelf at the game store I used to frequent. Even marked down to $2 apiece, they were such :crap: nobody wanted them, not even as a curiosity.
Heroes and Heroines Deathwatch 2000.jpg
Heroes and Heroines Comics Greatest World.jpg
 
There used to be (and may still be) a half-dozen or more copies of this--as well as the three sourcebooks (Deathwatch 2000 and Comic's [sic] Greatest World being the other two)--on the bargain shelf at the game store I used to frequent. Even marked down to $2 apiece, they were such :crap: nobody wanted them, not even as a curiosity.


Yeah, even back in the early aughts I first encountered it in a used bookstore fr ridiculously low price, and I flipped through them every time I wet in, but the system just looked like such crap. I'm a huge fan of Sam Keith's The Maxx, but even then as a "sourcebook" it was complete trash.
 

Raven Star definitely has piqued my interest. A quick google search turned up pretty much nothing. It's not even available on DriveThruRPG, and the only information is a particularly savage review of the game on Big Purple. Apparently the game was a horrible mess of smashed together systems from AD&D, GURPS and Cyberpunk 2020 that barely worked together. Worse, the author appears to have plagiarized entire blocks of text from GURPS 3rd ed and Cyberpunk 2020.

I think I have another candidate for the Shelf of Shame. XD
 
I played Heroes and Heroines! My character was the Titane Mammoth, he was completely invulnerable and could turn his left hand into a 1000 steel ball that he could not lift.
 
I played Heroes and Heroines! My character was the Titane Mammoth, he was completely invulnerable and could turn his left hand into a 1000 steel ball that he could not lift.
So you swung at the other super's head and transformed the hand into a ball mid-flight, right:grin:?
 
I recognize Expendables and High Colonies but I never got either of those. The others I don't even recognize.

Actually, I'm not even sure I recognize Expendables, but the font of the title is familiar and the publisher Stellar Games I definitely recognize. I don't know if they put out anything else that is triggering the memory cells...
 
Fringeworthy and FTL are still sold but I rarely hear of people playing them. I would like to play Fringeworthy with BRP rules someday. Maybe Tulpa Girl Tulpa Girl will remember me :-)
Heh, please be forewarned that even if did ever get off my ass enough to run this here, not only would I be tweaking and streamlining the BRP rules, but my interpretation on the Fringeworthy setting would be, shall we say, a bit loose.
 

I'd heard of High Colonies but the rest were all titles I was unaware of. However, while I don't remember the name, the cover of Journeyman looks very familiar. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, there was a comic and gaming shop I used to visit, called Alley Books (it was, unsurprisingly, situated down an alleyway), and I think I saw it in there. They often had a lot of sci-fi games in. It was the first place that I ever saw Traveller for sale (both Classic and Mega).
 
I'd heard of High Colonies but the rest were all titles I was unaware of. However, while I don't remember the name, the cover of Journeyman looks very familiar. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, there was a comic and gaming shop I used to visit, called Alley Books (it was, unsurprisingly, situated down an alleyway), and I think I saw it in there. They often had a lot of sci-fi games in. It was the first place that I ever saw Traveller for sale (both Classic and Mega).

High Colonies is currently being re-released by Columbia Games as part of a Kickstarter (PDF Only)...which is running a bit behind. Uses the same system as they use for HarnMaster.
 
High Colonies is currently being re-released by Columbia Games as part of a Kickstarter (PDF Only)...which is running a bit behind. Uses the same system as they use for HarnMaster.
Seems rather pricey for a PDF. Odd that there is no print option.
 
Heh, please be forewarned that even if did ever get off my ass enough to run this here, not only would I be tweaking and streamlining the BRP rules, but my interpretation on the Fringeworthy setting would be, shall we say, a bit loose.

I really really wish that MSPE and T&T hybrid had been used (licensed) to produce B13, because despite the issues between Tucholka (RIP) and Pollota (RIP) the novels were a lot more fun for me than the game and its rules were. Though the game had humor in the background the rules were so humorless.
 
Seems rather pricey for a PDF. Odd that there is no print option.

Columbia Games is notorious for their unreasonably high PDF prices. I'm not sure why they're doing PDF-only either unless they're not expecting to get a good return on this one.
 
Freebase. Came as an insert with HoL. I'd link art but my phone isn't cooperating.
 
Columbia Games is notorious for their unreasonably high PDF prices. I'm not sure why they're doing PDF-only either unless they're not expecting to get a good return on this one.
That said, if you're part of their mailing list, they have pretty deep sales on individual products on a regular basis, so if you're patient you can often get various PDFs at a decent price.
 
I really really wish that MSPE and T&T hybrid had been used (licensed) to produce B13, because despite the issues between Tucholka (RIP) and Pollota (RIP) the novels were a lot more fun for me than the game and its rules were. Though the game had humor in the background the rules were so humorless.
While overall I'm leaning toward lighter rulesets for many of the ideas kicking around in my head - MiniSix being one I want to do something with someday - something about Fringeworthy seems to call out for BRP's ' you have to use a skill to improve it' approach, but maybe that's just me.
 
That said, if you're part of their mailing list, they have pretty deep sales on individual products on a regular basis, so if you're patient you can often get various PDFs at a decent price.

This is true, and is about the only way I've purchased PDFs from them.
 
That said, if you're part of their mailing list, they have pretty deep sales on individual products on a regular basis, so if you're patient you can often get various PDFs at a decent price.
This is true, and is about the only way I've purchased PDFs from them.
I think that's how I've purchased mine, unless I'm mistaking them for a company with a similar policy:grin:!
 
I was going to mention a seventh game in Part 2 of the Forgotten Games series, but the timing didn't work out. This has been a personal favorite of mine for some time. I did not get it back in the day, but found it on eBay several years ago. I have secured the rights to Worlds Beyond (1989), so there will be a classic reprint of it in the near future.
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http://rpg.deals/wb
 
I was going to mention a seventh game in Part 2 of the Forgotten Games series, but the timing didn't work out. This has been a personal favorite of mine for some time. I did not get it back in the day, but found it on eBay several years ago. I have secured the rights to Worlds Beyond (1989), so there will be a classic reprint of it in the near future.
View attachment 22855

http://rpg.deals/wb
This is one of the SFRPGs that I should have but can’t find anymore. I really don’t think I got rid of it.
 
This is one of the SFRPGs that I should have but can’t find anymore. I really don’t think I got rid of it.
Well, you could re-purchase it when it's reprinted:thumbsup:!
 
I was going to mention a seventh game in Part 2 of the Forgotten Games series, but the timing didn't work out. This has been a personal favorite of mine for some time. I did not get it back in the day, but found it on eBay several years ago. I have secured the rights to Worlds Beyond (1989), so there will be a classic reprint of it in the near future.
View attachment 22855

http://rpg.deals/wb
Do you have a range on what print and pdf price might be?
 
The World of Synnibar. It went unsold for the entire time I worked at a game store in the 90's. It takes the gonzo lolrandum of Rifts and turns it up to 11. I don't believe we sold a copy of Cyborg Commando either now that I think about it.
 
Pirates of Dark Water
Was that an official licensed game? I remember enjoying the cartoon a lot. Shame it got cancelled before the story finished.
3) Noumenon
4) Baker St
5) Cogs, Cakes, and Walking Sticks
Noumenon is interesting, but I'm not convinced it would work in play. I bought my copy in PDF from Drivethru out of curiosity when someone on another site described it as the weirdest, most impenetrable game he knew of.

I don't actually remember what the system is like. I just remember that the player characters are human souls reincarnated as giant insects in a huge, surreal mansion where every room is a puzzle intended to help them solve the mystery of their own lives.

I also have a copy of Cogs, Cakes and Walking Sticks. It's written in a faux-Victorian style I found so grating I didn't finish reading the introduction.
The World of Synnibar. It went unsold for the entire time I worked at a game store in the 90's. It takes the gonzo lolrandum of Rifts and turns it up to 11. I don't believe we sold a copy of Cyborg Commando either now that I think about it.
You're asking me to believe a game featuring laser-eye-beam-bears and a ninja who is also the god of rock 'n' roll didn't fly off the shelves?
 
The World of Synnibar. It went unsold for the entire time I worked at a game store in the 90's. It takes the gonzo lolrandum of Rifts and turns it up to 11. I don't believe we sold a copy of Cyborg Commando either now that I think about it.
These are two games are legendary to me. As in I've heard about them, and their terribleness, but I've never actually seen them.
 
High Colonies is currently being re-released by Columbia Games as part of a Kickstarter (PDF Only)...which is running a bit behind. Uses the same system as they use for HarnMaster.

I've only ever glanced at the Harnmaster rules but, from what I've read elsewhere, I'm pretty sure they'd be too crunchy for my tastes! If I want D100-based sci-fi I've got FrontierSpace, Other Worlds, and a whole bunch of BRP material I can use. Speaking of which...

I have secured the rights to Worlds Beyond (1989), so there will be a classic reprint of it in the near future.

I own this already but it's good to know it's coming back into print. It's great to have even more BRP-compatible sci-fi material available as the genre has been under-served in the past!
 
I was going to mention a seventh game in Part 2 of the Forgotten Games series, but the timing didn't work out. This has been a personal favorite of mine for some time. I did not get it back in the day, but found it on eBay several years ago. I have secured the rights to Worlds Beyond (1989), so there will be a classic reprint of it in the near future.
View attachment 22855

http://rpg.deals/wb
You secured the rights? How wonderful! Nice to have another BRP Sci Fi game on the market!
 
I was going to mention a seventh game in Part 2 of the Forgotten Games series, but the timing didn't work out. This has been a personal favorite of mine for some time. I did not get it back in the day, but found it on eBay several years ago. I have secured the rights to Worlds Beyond (1989), so there will be a classic reprint of it in the near future.
View attachment 22855

http://rpg.deals/wb
How many sales would you expect to get off something like this?
 
Was that an official licensed game? I remember enjoying the cartoon a lot. Shame it got cancelled before the story finished.

Noumenon is interesting, but I'm not convinced it would work in play. I bought my copy in PDF from Drivethru out of curiosity when someone on another site described it as the weirdest, most impenetrable game he knew of.

I don't actually remember what the system is like. I just remember that the player characters are human souls reincarnated as giant insects in a huge, surreal mansion where every room is a puzzle intended to help them solve the mystery of their own lives.

I also have a copy of Cogs, Cakes and Walking Sticks. It's written in a faux-Victorian style I found so grating I didn't finish reading the introduction.

You're asking me to believe a game featuring laser-eye-beam-bears and a ninja who is also the god of rock 'n' roll didn't fly off the shelves?
I believe it was licensed. It's an odd one in that it's not a book. It's loose leaf core rules three hole punched with a stapled worldbook and a map.
 
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