Free League announces Blade Runner RPG in 2022

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Gringnr

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Like Alien, this is a bit too specific for my taste (though it could be awesome, as Alien reportedly is). Curious to see how it does for them.
 
I just got a notification in my email that the makers of the Alien RPG will be doing an officially licensed Blade Runner RPG:

This is the BLADE RUNNER roleplaying game – a neon-noir wonderland that’ll take your breath away. One way or another. An evocative world of conflicts and contrasts that dares to ask the hard questions and investigate the powers of empathy, the poisons of fear, and the burdens of being human during inhumane times. An iconic and unforgiving playground of endless possibilities that picks you up, slaps you in the face, and tells you to wake up.

Time to live. Or time to die.

As someone who just bought Cyberpunk Red this past year, my wallet is weary of another expense but I sincerely LOVE the Free League game system. Also, the focus is arguably more focused that Cyberpunk:

The official Blade Runner RPG will propel players into the streets of Los Angeles as Blade Runners with unique specialties, personalities – and memories.

The core game and its line of expansions will push the boundaries of investigative gameplay in tabletop RPGs, giving players a range of tools to solve an array of cases far beyond retiring Replicants. Beyond the core casework, the RPG will both in setting and mechanics showcase key themes of Blade Runner – sci-fi action, corporate intrigue, existential character drama, and moral conflict – that challenge players to question your friends, empathize with your enemies, and explore the poisons and perseverance of hope and humanity during such inhumane times.

The rules of the game are based on the acclaimed Year Zero Engine, used in award-winning games such as the ALIEN RPG, Tales From the Loop and Forbidden Lands, but further developed and uniquely tailored for Blade Runner.

I'm very torn!

What do you think?

Blade Runner kampanjssajt (bladerunner-rpg.com)
 
This one really feels like a cash grab for both the BR Partnership and FL.

I suspect the built-in fan base will love it while the wary and critical minded will find it--like Alien and T2k--rather meh.
 
I don't know. A lot will depend on the execution*. Plus, BR has influenced pretty much every cyberpunk RPG out there already, so for me there's a lot of "Why now?" to this.

It seems like licensed RPGs are becoming a big thing again -- not that they ever went away, of course, but there are a lot more properties getting them these days than I would have thought likely in the past.

* Er, sorry...retirement.
 
From their website.

 
I'm going to pick it up. I mean, if Alien is any indication, it will at least be a lot prettier and breezier reading than Cyberpunk Red. Plus, it may have some interesting takes on Blade Runner lore. I'm sure there will be some interesting inferred connections between Alien and Blade Runner in the fluff, but I doubt it will be explicit, because the rights owners will definitely want to keep the IPs in their own discrete boxes.
 
huh, as others have said....very specific. Seems more novelty than an IP I would have thought ripe with RPG potential, but the description of the system sounds interesting at least.
 
I just got a notification in my email that the makers of the Alien RPG will be doing an officially licensed Blade Runner RPG:



As someone who just bought Cyberpunk Red this past year, my wallet is weary of another expense but I sincerely LOVE the Free League game system. Also, the focus is arguably more focused that Cyberpunk:



I'm very torn!

What do you think?

Blade Runner kampanjssajt (bladerunner-rpg.com)
It's not 2d20, it's not 5e and it's not PbtA or Fate...so I'd give it a shot, at least:shade:!
 
Character creation better be called the Voight-Kampff Test.
I'm hoping I can get that GM screen I was musing about a while back with the Voight-Kampff machine image on the player facing side.

Probably not, though. It will probably be a cityscape with a spinner and the geisha billboard.
 
I personally wouldn't have minded 2d20, but whenever I see a game is PbtA or Fate, I just write it off.
While I'd be more likely to give it a shot if it was PbtA or Fate. Not really likely either way, but at least possible:thumbsup:.

So basically, my point was that there was no pleasing everybody if you use an already-established system. And if you don't, some people would object to that, too:shade:.

Luckily for you and me, I don't mind the Fria Ligan's system...or at least I didn't mind what little I've seen of it. I own some corebooks due to a recent Humble Bundle, but didn't have the time to read them before the two Delta Green Bundles of Holding appeared - and now everything else, except Mythic Babylon and Outlaws of the Water Margin, is on the wayside:grin:!
 
It just doesn't feel like there's enough there to make a full modern RPG out of, IMO. I see it working better as a supplement or sourcebook for an existing RPG line, sort of like the HardWired and When Gravity Fails books for Cyberpunk 2020, or the miscellaneous simple one-and-done RPGs for various properties in decades past.
 
I agree, being a detective always working replicant cases seems pretty narrow. I'm interested to see how they expand it, and I'm guessing they really have to in order to make it a viable game.

Exploring what it is to be human seems like a theme, so there had better be a ton of material on replicants and playing them.
 
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The Year Zero engine is in danger of overuse. One of the reasons I’m offended by 2d20 is Modiphius thinking they can fit a square peg into a round hole every game. The Year Zero engine is not that good that it should be used for every licensed game Free League puts out.
 
The Year Zero engine is in danger of overuse. One of the reasons I’m offended by 2d20 is Modiphius thinking they can fit a square peg into a round hole every game. The Year Zero engine is not that good that it should be used for every licensed game Free League puts out.
Well, yes, but I'm still willing to wait and see at this point:thumbsup:.
 
Hmmm. Blade Runner's not the first cyberpunk setting I'd leap to play an RPG in, to be honest. I'm a pass on this one.
 
Hmmm. Blade Runner's not the first cyberpunk setting I'd leap to play an RPG in, to be honest. I'm a pass on this one.
Honestly, I don't know much about the setting, it's not like the movie mentioned that much. So I guess I'd just wait to see the reviews - it might well be the best cyberpunk setting ever seen...or complete trash, cause execution matters:thumbsup:.
 
I'm curious if they have the rights to the book as well. There were unexplained remnants of things from the book, such as people having artificial pets. That would give them more lore to play with, and make it more overtly Dickian. I already have plenty of cyberpunk/sci-fi games that I can run Blade Runner with. Hostile/Zaibatsu comes immediately to mind.
 
The Year Zero engine is in danger of overuse. One of the reasons I’m offended by 2d20 is Modiphius thinking they can fit a square peg into a round hole every game. The Year Zero engine is not that good that it should be used for every licensed game Free League puts out.

I havent played any Year Zero games - what's the base mechanic?
 
I'm curious if they have the rights to the book as well. There were unexplained remnants of things from the book, such as people having artificial pets. That would give them more lore to play with, and make it more overtly Dickian. I already have plenty of cyberpunk/sci-fi games that I can run Blade Runner with. Hostile/Zaibatsu comes immediately to mind.

There was also, IIRC, a sequel book that blended the film with the original book
 
There was also, IIRC, a sequel book that blended the film with the original book
Yes, K.W. Jeter wrote that one. Along with Tim Powers, he is one of Dick's protégés, so he has some credibility in writing a sequel. I've liked everything by Jeter that I have read, but I somehow never got around to that one, so I can't say how much useful game content it contains.
 
I havent played any Year Zero games - what's the base mechanic?
Roll D6s equal to attribute value plus skill value (both 1-5) plus bonus dice (for equipment or circumstances or what not). 6s are successes, further 6s after the first give additional effects. If you roll poorly you can push, rerolling all 2-5s. On the second roll, 1s on attribute dice and bonus dice (including those left over from the first roll) are bad, usually meaning damaged attributes, broken equipment etc.
 
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Roll D6s equal to attribute value plus skill value (both 1-5) plus bonus dice (for equipment or circumstances or what not). 6s are successes, further 6s after the first gives additional effects. If you roll poorly you can push, rerolling all 2-5s. On the second roll, 1s on attribute dice and bonus dice (including those left over from the first roll) are bad, usually meaning damaged attributes, broken equipment etc.

Hm, kinda similiar to Silhouette
 
I agree, being a detective always working replicant cases seems pretty narrow. I'm interested to see how they expand it, and I'm guessing they really have to in order to make it a viable game.
That's a good point. At least with a broader system/setting like Cyberpunk Red, you can do Blade Runner, Deus Ex, Akira, Ghost in the Shell... hell you can even do some Mad Max because of the apocalyptic wastelands outside of the Mega Cities.

Unless they show us how the game goes beyond what we see in the movies, I may just stick with Cyberpunk Red for this sort of thing.
 
Hm, kinda similiar to Silhouette
And each IP has a slightly different take on what happens when you "push" your roll to get those 6s.

In Alien, for example, if you push a roll, you get a Stress die, which adds a bonus die to every one of your rolls... until that stress die comes up as a 1. In that case PANIC sets it with pretty bad results for yourself and everyone around you.

In Tales from the Loop and Vaesen, pushing a roll gets you negative traits (like "tired" or "stressed out" or "wounded"). Stuff like that.
 
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