I'm looking forward to Blade Runner.

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
That is one thing Leading Edge Games had with their games, their minis looked like the actors.
 
Interestingly they're using a slightly different system than Alien, Vaesen and Tales from the Loop. Instead of pools of d6s, better skills use higher dice types instead. Haven't seen that before (although I've heard that... Twilight 2000 used something like that? Is that correct?)
 
Interestingly they're using a slightly different system than Alien, Vaesen and Tales from the Loop. Instead of pools of d6s, better skills use higher dice types instead. Haven't seen that before (although I've heard that... Twilight 2000 used something like that? Is that correct?)
I think that's right, though I don't have T2K myself. I'm not sure I like the sound of that over the usual d6 dice pools, but I'll keep an open mind - especially since I just pledged at the REP-DETECT level ...
 
So as stated earlier, I already own Cyberpunk Red. I love Free League (got Alien, Tales from the Loop and Vaesen).

As much as I'd love to acquire MORE STUFF, I'm trying to rationalize NOT backing this campaign.

Gonna be pouring over this thread a lot over the next few weeks to weigh pros and cons...
I'm the same way. I did a quick survey of my group and they were pretty "meh" about Bladerunner. (They were also "meh" about Alien and Twilight 2000, but I bought both of those anyway.) My head says I'll never run the thing, but my heart says I want one. I'll be watching this thread and doing a lot of pondering before the KS ends. It will be neat to see everyone's thoughts on this.

By the way, as folks continue to mention noir I'm one step closer to buying. I'm a sucker for Raymond Chandler type stuff, in book or movie form, and Bladerunner does have that vibe to it.... :grin:
 
I'm not actually sure I'll ever run a straight-up FL setting, but I'm interested enough in the YZE mechanics that I'm curious to see what they do with BR and how I can hack it / synthesize it with Alien, etc.
 
While we’re talking about it, does anyone know if there’s a version of the Blade Runner soundtrack WITHOUT audio samples from the movie?

I love the music but ‘can’t stand all the movie clips.
 
While we’re talking about it, does anyone know if there’s a version of the Blade Runner soundtrack WITHOUT audio samples from the movie?

I love the music but ‘can’t stand all the movie clips.

You mean the original film? I had it on vinyl and it didn't have any clips. Maybe that was added to later releases?
 
Interestingly they're using a slightly different system than Alien, Vaesen and Tales from the Loop. Instead of pools of d6s, better skills use higher dice types instead. Haven't seen that before (although I've heard that... Twilight 2000 used something like that? Is that correct?)

Yes. The dice look very much like the same thing as what Twilight 2000 uses. The description of the mechanic provided in the Kickstarter sounds very similar.
 
While we’re talking about it, does anyone know if there’s a version of the Blade Runner soundtrack WITHOUT audio samples from the movie?

I love the music but ‘can’t stand all the movie clips.

There was, not a full soundtrack, but an extended version of the theme on the 2disc CD "Music for a Darkened Theatre"
 
I remain unconvinced that there's enough meat on the bone for a whole game here. Same with Alien, which I have, but I don't mind the idea of using it for one-shots.

Besides, weren't the replicants really the good guys?
 
While not perfect, this guy somehow was allowed to remake the entire soundtrack (minus the audio samples from the movie).

Pretty close to the real thing. Good enough for a game session, anyway:

 
Besides, weren't the replicants really the good guys?

In the first movie, at least, there weren't really any full-blown heroes, and the only real villains were the corporations. Most of the people in the movie (regular humans or replicants) were just desperate people living in dire circumstances. The replicants were adult slaves with the emotional capacity of toddlers, so they were definitely victims, and it would be hard to fault them for the things they did.

In the original novella, the replicants were shown to be almost totally devoid of any capacity for empathy. Unlike the ones in the movie, though, they weren't just genetically modified humans. They were artificial life forms.
 
There are a few, but not enough (I'm a big police procedural fan), the ones I can remember:

Crime Fighter (really old now)
Gangbusters
GURPS Cops/SWAT
Judge Dredd (in various incarnations, most/all can certainly be played more 'cop' like if you dial down the gonzo)
Mutant City Blues (GUMSHOE supers cops take down supers criminals)
Ashen Stars (also GUMSHOE, seems a bit space opera than BR though)
The Thin Blue Line (Savage Worlds cops meet supernatural)
Crime Scene Series (D20 supplements )
Blade Runner (a rough and ready fan made game, for his own SKETCH system)

Android Shadow of the Beanstalk has the option to pick a cop (Genesys system)
Traveller can certainly do it too

The Department of Fabricant Management (actually sold as a skirmish game but clearly capable of RPG play too) is maybe the closest in spirit.

And of course Top Secret, Covert Ops, Dogs of WAR/Everywhen/generic systems etc. can be used as well.

This is such a rich vein in other media as well as Blade Runner (expanding with comics & Black Lotus recently) you have SNATCHER, AD Police, Detroit: Become Human, Almost Human, also Psycho-Pass, Humans and Ghost in the Shell and almost definitely some others for something a little different.

Psi World from FGU is another.

With all the licensed RPGs these days I expect it is just a matter of time before there is a 2d20 Robocop. :clown:

I have a lot of Free League games and they are all of the highest quality (Forbidden Lands, Mutant Year Zero, Twilight 2000 and Aliens). Love Blade Runner but I'm just not very excited about this one and I'm not sure why... which is really odd and it's now kinda bugging me.

That is kind of funny, although BR is a great film I find it hard to disagree with the many "why?" comments. I feel like I'm more interested in this that I really should be.
 
I remain unconvinced that there's enough meat on the bone for a whole game here. Same with Alien, which I have, but I don't mind the idea of using it for one-shots.
I thought the same for Alien, but there are a half dozen movies and a bunch of Alien paperbacks and such that add to the setting. I suppose if all of that stuff is canon there might be enough. I bought the Alien RPG as well and it's pretty well detailed, but I haven't really played it yet. There was a thread (here at the Pub, I think) that speculated that Alien and Bladerunner are part of the same universe, so linking the two RPGs could make for a fun universe. Space truckers, noir detectives, alien hunters, all together in one setting.

As to Bladerunner without the Alien link-in, the PK Dick novel feels nothing like the movie to me. I think there may be some graphic novels, but otherwise we really only have two movies to draw from. That's not a lot of material, but I suspect that Free League will extrapolate from the canon and bring in other cyberpunk style elements to make it more complete.

I have a book called "Future Noir" which talks about the making of the original Bladerunner movie. Not sure it adds much to the setting, but it was a fun read. :grin:
 
As to Bladerunner without the Alien link-in, the PK Dick novel feels nothing like the movie to me. I think there may be some graphic novels, but otherwise we really only have two movies to draw from. That's not a lot of material, but I suspect that Free League will extrapolate from the canon and bring in other cyberpunk style elements to make it more complete.

The Black Lotus mini series would also be a source, but yes, it's slim pickings and there's huge questions left unanswered. That said, Alien had huge questions unanswered which Fria Ligan took care of. Like "how does the FTL work". Minor for a storyteller as cold sleep isn't that interesting plot-wise and I don't think for a second that the writers really thought it through.

WIth Blade Runner we have the whole Offworld thing. I kinda think that the Expanse gives us a little of that vibe. It seems to me that Thomas Jane's character is modelled on Deckard when he didn't get to run off with Rachael bit instead escaped to some of the seedy parts of the offworld colonies.

Now, there's likely enough intrigue in BR even just in LA and Vegas to satisfy most groups. Spinners are cool. Drones are cool. Replicants are cool. The idea of social apocalypse is cool. Replicant Underground is cool. And I can't be the only one who thought Sapper Morton was one of the most interesting characters. There's heaps to unpick....the least interesting part being the murder of unruly slaves.
 
“As blade runners – members of the Los Angeles Police Department who are specifically tasked with hunting down illegal androids called replicants – the players in the Blade Runner RPG will gain promotion points by doing their jobs, whether that’s finding evidence, solving a case or apprehending a rogue replicant. Promotion points can be used to gain benefits such as new specialties, gear or even better pay. Getting three or more promotion points in a single session will result in a player character getting a distinction from the Deputy Chief Holden.”


From: https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/b...e/news/blade-runner-trpg-kickstarter-launches

and on that alone I am cancelling my pledge.
 
lategamer lategamer Please, elaborate.

It does sound a bit strange that (only?) humanity points can be used to increase skill levels and to get those, requires losing promotion points, i.e. not doing your job right. Or do you suppose there are other ways to increase skills as well?
 
lategamer lategamer Please, elaborate.

It does sound a bit strange that (only?) humanity points can be used to increase skill levels and to get those, requires losing promotion points, i.e. not doing your job right. Or do you suppose there are other ways to increase skills as well?
Good point, unless the skills are "slacking off" and "Lying to your boss." I'd like to see a skill list.
 
Meh. I'm really just buying based on my enthusiasm for the property and because of the goodwill Free League has earned with my so far with Alien and Vaesen. Everything is being painted so vague and in such broad strokes right now that I don't even think it's meaningful. To me all that stuff is just long windedly saying "there is an advancement mechanic." But it's probably about balancing your profession as a bounty hunter/hitman with your humanity. Sounds pretty on target for Blade Runner to me.
 
lategamer lategamer Please, elaborate.

It does sound a bit strange that (only?) humanity points can be used to increase skill levels and to get those, requires losing promotion points, i.e. not doing your job right. Or do you suppose there are other ways to increase skills as well?
I think they’ve gone the wrong way. I mean, promoting the killing of escaped slaves for whatever points is just a big Nahhhhh from me.

I’ll write my own.
 
I think they’ve gone the wrong way. I mean, promoting the killing of escaped slaves for whatever points is just a big Nahhhhh from me.
You mean, like the titular character of the movie:shock:?
 
“As blade runners – members of the Los Angeles Police Department who are specifically tasked with hunting down illegal androids called replicants – the players in the Blade Runner RPG will gain promotion points by doing their jobs, whether that’s finding evidence, solving a case or apprehending a rogue replicant. Promotion points can be used to gain benefits such as new specialties, gear or even better pay. Getting three or more promotion points in a single session will result in a player character getting a distinction from the Deputy Chief Holden.”


From: https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/b...e/news/blade-runner-trpg-kickstarter-launches

and on that alone I am cancelling my pledge.

If character advancement/promotion is gained from doing that, and that alone, then there's a problem inherent with such design. Doesn't really matter about the in-world 'ethics' etc, if the mechanics simply reward "doing your job" and that job is retiring sentient androids then it limits approaches and the like. I'm hoping this fuses with the other side of the coin (eg, humanity and skill levels) so that players can decide how to walk that path with a bit more nuance and interesting options and balancing one against the other. That's what I'm inferring from the extremely limited information shared so far.
 
Last edited:
It seems an odd choice, given Ridley Scott considered Deckard a replicant.
 
Take a look at this, some nuggets in there...

 
Ethical considerations to one side (though I can see them and don't really like the taste they leave in my mouth), I'd be concerned about how the players might (definitely will) game the system.

What I mean by that is a) right now we need more specialisms/credits/doohicks/gew-gaws, so EXTERMINATE ALL REPLICANTS or b) our skills seem sub-par right now, so LET OUR REPLICANTS GO!

Or the fun that could ensue when some players want to let a replicant go for the humanity points, and other players want to murder the heck out of it for the other points.
 
I definitely would only want to run this game with people who have watched the movies and actually understood the nuance, ethical dilemmas and dramatic themes beyond "it's a movie about murderous slave catchers". There's a fuck ton more to those movies than that, and if a player thinks otherwise, they're not going to be a good fit at my table.
 
I definitely would only want to run this game with people who have watched the movies and actually understood the nuance, ethical dilemmas and dramatic themes beyond "it's a movie about murderous slave catchers". There's a fuck ton more to those movies than that, and if a player thinks otherwise, they're not going to be a good fit at my table.

The movies are about murderous slave catchers who for their own selfish reasons decide that "No, NOW it's wrong"

(I could mention the RPG Reichstar here)
 
The movies are about murderous slave catchers who for their own selfish reasons decide that "No, NOW it's wrong"

(I could mention the RPG Reichstar here)
Okay well I disagree and feel that you’ve oversimplified this but I get your stance. Not much more to exchange with you, especially because you’re implying that I’m into Nazism games.

I think it best that I put you on ignore and then I will leave the thread.

cheers
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top