IP's that ought to have their own RPGs

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
But in this instance, I'm only using the parts of canon that are useful to them. I can understand not wanting to be beholden to a story that came before, it's part of the reason why I personally do not like Historical gaming. History is effectively the same thing as Canon, so if you can't change it, why bother playing?
Most historical games I've played in you either can change things or what history actually records is beyond your reach to change (although you still could if you managed to).

I would see Historical gaming more as playing the life of somebody in Ancient Rome let's say, with Rome set up to be accurate at the time you start, but with no expectation that everything literally plays out as it did in real life once the players start.
 
Most historical games I've played in you either can change things or what history actually records is beyond your reach to change (although you still could if you managed to).

I would see Historical gaming more as playing the life of somebody in Ancient Rome let's say, with Rome set up to be accurate at the time you start, but with no expectation that everything literally plays out as it did in real life once the players start.
I don't see that, I've tried, but you do you.
 
I don't see that, I've tried, but you do you.
Are you saying you feel history has to play out as it did? What if you play a trader let's say sailing the Mediterranean at the time?
 
Are you saying you feel history has to play out as it did? What if you play a trader let's say sailing the Mediterranean at the time?
The players I run with want to make waves (no pun intended) and in a purely historical setting all the big things are often done by large organizations, and rarely a group of 'adventurers'. In fact, those tend to be discouraged and labelled criminals.

However, I have nothing against alternate history games, however.
 
I've honestly never even heard of the 2d20 system.
The 2d20 system is the "house" rules set for a company called Modiphius. They have managed to grab up the IPs for Star Trek, John Carter, Conan, Dune, and others -- and have been launching product lines all using this particular system.

I don't have a lot of experience with 2d20, but it seems that you are rolling d20's under a stat to gain successes, and these cause you to create point pools to spend in ways that are advantageous to you now or can be saved for later. The GM also collects a pool of points that can be spent against the party. It's kind of narrative in that way, but some folks dislike the notion that good luck now could result in bad luck later, or vice versa.
 
Three things turn me off of 2d20.

  • All of the various meta-currencies that you need to keep track of.
  • The adversarial role of the GM.
  • That Modiphius keeps snagging all of the cool IPs and shoehorning them into the 2d20 system.
 
Three things turn me off of 2d20.

  • All of the various meta-currencies that you need to keep track of.
  • The adversarial role of the GM.
  • That Modiphius keeps snagging all of the cool IPs and shoehorning them into the 2d20 system.
That third point seems particularly notable in the backlash that it has created. 2d20 seems be generating the same level of heat that I have only ever seen for D&D and Storyteller, as those are both systems that spent time at the top of the heap, making them hard to get away from. I don't get the impression that 2d20 has achieved the same level of popularity that either of those systems did, but all those high profile licenses turn what might be indifference to the system into anger.

Personally, I just dislike point one, all those damn meta-currencies to track. On the whole, I'm pretty cool on licensed RPGs. They usually have really slow support as someone back at the corporate office usually has to approve every word, they often are constrained by canon, making it hard for them to more fully develop the setting, and eventually, sometimes abruptly, the license gets pulled, and the game disappears from legal existence, with even used copies being especially costly.

I'll generally prefer a game with the "feel" of a setting than the official game. At the same time, I get why other people like them. For one thing, they can be great for luring people into the hobby. It's a lot easier to get people to play the Star Trek game than a game that you swear to them is really an awful lot like Star Trek.
 
If I can snag a cheap PDF I might do that, unless one of my more fanatical Fallout friends says the system is really good. In the meantime, I have my home brew that functions perfectly well for what I am doing.
 
It's a lot easier to get people to play the Star Trek game than a game that you swear to them is really an awful lot like Star Trek.

Something I heard a lot when trying to get people to play Robotech on some other system than Palladium was that the Palladium version was OFFICIAL and therefore automatically better than any other option.
 
Something I heard a lot when trying to get people to play Robotech on some other system than Palladium was that the Palladium version was OFFICIAL and therefore automatically better than any other option.

Ha, no. No it isn't. I've played the Palladium version and had fun but highly doubt I would be able to put up with it today. I'd rather play using Savage Worlds and I don't like Savage Worlds.
 
There is GURPS Aztecs, but not aware of any others.
There's no other one worth of any attention, yet.

alongside a 2d20-powered Fallout RPG
Yeah, I've already scheduled the time to translate it to a system I like better:devil:!
If I can snag a cheap PDF I might do that, unless one of my more fanatical Fallout friends says the system is really good. In the meantime, I have my home brew that functions perfectly well for what I am doing.

There's also going to be an RPG expansion to their Fallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures game sometime this summer. That will use the same mechanics as the skirmish game. At least it's not 2d20... :cry:

Fallout Wasteland Warfare Roleplaying Expansion - Modiphius
 
The players I run with want to make waves (no pun intended) and in a purely historical setting all the big things are often done by large organizations, and rarely a group of 'adventurers'. In fact, those tend to be discouraged and labelled criminals.

However, I have nothing against alternate history games, however.
One thing I've found that can help with historical games is to just start the game of with something that violates history. It doesn't even have to have massive immediate setting ramifications.

You could be running your game in Renaissance Italy and the PCs hear that Richard III has just won the battle of Boswell.

It's just a signal that everything is on the table. And that yes, you really will allow history to be changed.
 
I used to want an RPG based on V. The old one from the 80s. I haven't seen the more recent version.

I recall that when I got the GURPS 3e Basic Set back in the late 80s, it came with a questionaire. One of the questions was what properties you'd like to see GURPS supplements about.

I wrote down stuff like V, Battlestar Galactica, Baa Baa Black Sheep. I wrote down all kinds of stuff, which I probably wouldn't feel are good fits to GURPS.
 
I wrote down stuff like V, Battlestar Galactica, Baa Baa Black Sheep. I wrote down all kinds of stuff, which I probably wouldn't feel are good fits to GURPS.
For what it's worse there was a Battlestar Galactica RPG released by MWP using Cortex Classic.
 
tenor.gif
tumblr_p4noeimyF01toamj8o8_r1_500.gif

d91d57d4ef08c40cf6545b49001e75c4.gif


No, no, there wasn't.
 
Last edited:
For what it's worse there was a Battlestar Galactica RPG released by MWP using Cortex Classic.

With soo many typos. I tried, but I just couldn't get past them and sold the book.
 
I've never seen Space 1999. But I love those last two images.

I particularly like how the Destination Moon Base Alpha logo is rising up in 3D as a moon base tech structure.
 
Agreed. Warships is sort of close, just in a strange alternate timeline.

Never run across that.

That was a board game? I had an old PC game of it that I loved. But sadly can't get it working on anything newer than XP.

More RPG-ish wargame along the lines of Carwars or Battletech. As I recall you had individual "PC" pilots that could get better, but the game was entirely based around aerial combat. I never owned the game as it was out of print and getting expensive by the time I found out about it.

The PC game was great fun, but it was buggy, or at least mine was. I was only able to play to a certain mission, and then it would make the computer crash.


I could go for Space: 1999 as a roleplaying game, but I'd want to expand it beyond just Moonbase Alpha and open up more adventure possibilities in their setting.


Somebody has uploaded a ton of Space 1999 episodes onto Youtube. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, and the series actually holds up fairly well and the effects are a lot better than your typical British Sci-fi of the 70s.

I'd buy a Space 1999 RPG.

 
I could go for Space: 1999 as a roleplaying game, but I'd want to expand it beyond just Moonbase Alpha and open up more adventure possibilities in their setting.


That reminds me that I always wanted to run a Captain Scarlet game.
 
Another setting that would be fun is the galaxy of Starcrash. Just extrapolate from things mentioned and seen in the movie and you've got quite a setting.

trash-night-starcrash-586.gif
source.gif
8c877f95bfd9db36b643d2b65875b5ff.gif
8AB4.gif
giphy3.gif
starcrash-www-nerdatron-com-david-hasselhoff-with-lightsaber-gif-1.gif
giphy.gif
giphy5.gif

I propose a hardcover with the production values of 1st edition WEG Star Wars and this is my cover dummy:
SCRPG2.png
 
Last edited:
I've never seen Space 1999. But I love those last two images.

I particularly like how the Destination Moon Base Alpha logo is rising up in 3D as a moon base tech structure.

Somebody has uploaded a ton of Space 1999 episodes onto Youtube. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, and the series actually holds up fairly well and the effects are a lot better than your typical British Sci-fi of the 70s.

I'd buy a Space 1999 RPG.



The first season is great. Just be sure to avoid the second season. It was almost an entirely different show, and a much poorer one at that.
 
QUAKE!!!

shot0176.jpg

(I mean the original 90s videogame. I'm sure there's been sequels, but I have no idea what story developments/retcons may have taken place)

Near future covert ops hopping between weirdly Hellish-medieval Dungeon Dimensions to repel a Lovecraftian threat planning an invasion of Earth.

How is this not already an RPG?
 
I liked the one with Rainbow Brite
Rainbow Brite 2085? It was alright, pretty dark though the way Cyber-Twink had to be sacrificed to restore the spheres.

(I mean the original 90s videogame. I'm sure there's been sequels, but I have no idea what story developments/retcons may have taken place)
They use the brand name Quake, but have nothing to do with it. Quake II is set in an unrelated Sci-Fi universe and Quake IV is a sequel to Quake II set in the same world. Quake III is simply an online shooter with a two sentence premise, again unrelated to Quake.

Probably the last game whose engine is fully comprehensible, some great ideas in it (mods using a virtual machine, the rendering model...)

I agree the original Quake has a cool world and the intro song!
 
I always thought Unreal Tournament would be an interesting thing to base a game around. Not just the arena shooting, but delving into the politicking and less than legal activities going on behind the scenes that is just hinted at in the video games.
 
This looks interesting... I need to look more into it.
You're in luck as it appears Baen has put out a six-volume series of thick mass market paperbacks each containing several novels in the series. The covers are mostly unattractive but inside them lurk some really entertaining sci fi stories.
51yO5L2KQKL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
They're probably available as eBooks as well, but I haven't checked because I'm a tactile person and need actual paper books.

I'd love to see some publisher get the Dumarest series back in print as well, hopefully with the scarce 32nd and 33rd novels included. I'm pretty sure they're all available as eBooks.
 
I'd love to see some publisher get the Dumarest series back in print as well, hopefully with the scarce 32nd and 33rd novels included. I'm pretty sure they're all available as eBooks.

They are available as ebooks, as are most of his other novels.
 
Hey Dumarest, I need a Death Wish RPG featuring Charles Bronson. Get onto licensing that for me.
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top