Settings you wish had an RPG treatment

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[popular misconception about Tales of the Gold Monkey]
Partially true. The series got pitched in 1979 as inspired by the movie, Only Angels Have Wings, but the network turned it down. However, they changed their minds post-Raiders and the show got the green light.

There's an interesting history on the program I should dig up and link. It explains the whole creative process, including the ways ABC pushed to make the show like Raiders despite that not being the creator's intention.
 
Except of course they did as they put out an Indiana Jones game using the Masterbook rules :wink:
Wasn't that the license which finally broke them? The whole Masterbook thing was kind of a fiasco, as I recall.

Probably not the right thread to discuss it, though. Maybe some other time/place.
 
Wasn't that the license which finally broke them? The whole Masterbook thing was kind of a fiasco, as I recall.

Probably not the right thread to discuss it, though. Maybe some other time/place.
I can’t speak to the history but I would enjoy a thread on the rise and fall of West End Games with input from knowledgeable people.
 
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I never had the TSR Indiana Jones game, isn’t that the one where you can’t make your own characters?

The character creation rules were in the "Judge's Pack" supplement. Too little, too late I assume.

The pulp game of my youth was FGU’s Daredevils.

I always wanted Justice Inc., just because the cover is awesome...

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...but never managed to find a copy.

Instead I ran a bunch of Pulp-ispired games with FASERIP.
 
The character creation rules were in the "Judge's Pack" supplement. Too little, too late I assume.



I always wanted Justice Inc., just because the cover is awesome...

View attachment 56123

...but never managed to find a copy.

Instead I ran a bunch of Pulp-ispired games with FASERIP.
Justice Inc was worth picking up if only for just inspiration and adventure ideas.

I have very mixed feelings about chargen for TSR's IJ. That game could have been a great experiment in small party play (Including 1 GM/1 PC) and what it means to actually build a game around a main character from some existing IP.

But initial support was really just modules based on the first two movies (that was a bad plan), and of course it ran into the problem that gamer culture was all about making your own character, not playing the main character from the movies. Hobbyists wanted a generalized pulp game in the setting of IJ, not an IJ RPG.

( I think people were a bit short-sighted in rejecting TSR IJ in that regard, but I get it.)

OTOH, TSR IJ was really a kind of mediocre, C+ grade system anyway. I'm generally pretty shocked when even today the major beef people had with it was a lack of chargen.

I did think it had a very good system teaching style built in, however. It's a bit sad that never caught on with other companies building RPGs with a first-timer audience in mind.
 
Two things TSR's Indiana Jones had that were kinda awesome was

1) a bunch of paper minis ala the style of FASERIP, but taken further to include vehicles and props

ij.JPG

2) A really extensive system for creating random ruins. I'm surprised that some form of these rules never made it over to D&D for random Dungeon generation...

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Overall the rules were rather lackluster, unfortunately, especially with the tight designs that were coming out at the time. They were serviceable, but nothing special, and the presentation was really...well "dry" is the best term. It did have chase rules, which were OK, but in comparison to VG's 007, come across a little clunky.
 
Two things TSR's Indiana Jones had that were kinda awesome was

1) a bunch of paper minis ala the style of FASERIP, but taken further to include vehicles and props

View attachment 56135

2) A really extensive system for creating random ruins. I'm surprised that some form of these rules never made it over to D&D for random Dungeon generation...

View attachment 56136View attachment 56137View attachment 56138View attachment 56139View attachment 56140

Overall the rules were rather lackluster, unfortunately, especially with the tight designs that were coming out at the time. They were serviceable, but nothing special, and the presentation was really...well "dry" is the best term. It did have chase rules, which were OK, but in comparison to VG's 007, come across a little clunky.
IIRC, FASERIP had at least one module (Pit of the Viper?) that had more stand-up stuff somewhat like those. It may have had more than one.
 
Every now and then this kind of topic comes up. Every now and then, somebody brings up this setting, because of course. Sometimes I consider The Fantasy Trip or Talislanta as fitting, but the magic in ZeFRS makes a case for its suitability as well.

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Every now and then this kind of topic comes up. Every now and then, somebody brings up this setting, because of course. Sometimes I consider The Fantasy Trip or Talislanta as fitting, but the magic in ZeFRS makes a case for its suitability as well.

View attachment 56148
This had an RPG made for it. I have it.
 
This had an RPG made for it. I have it.
Indeed, the '94 Mindgames one. I have a friend who owned it back in the day. The GM was called the MP, "Master Pirate" heh. Still, it's a very strange product. Like, it seems like it wants to be an add-on to another existing RPG and is only half of an RPG itself. Under the Attribute Chart section, for example, it says, "The following section details character attributes and should only be used as guidelines, as different role-playing systems vary in attribute minimums and maximums." In the early "Role-playing in the world of Mer" section it says, "If you do not have a preexisting campaign, all you need is a role-playing system, this product, the normal materials needed to play such games and a familiarization with this product."

I think Pirates of Dark Water deserves the full RPG treatment, as the old RPG is about as complete as the actual quest for the Treasures of Rule.
 
The character creation rules were in the "Judge's Pack" supplement. Too little, too late I assume.



I always wanted Justice Inc., just because the cover is awesome...

View attachment 56123

...but never managed to find a copy.

Instead I ran a bunch of Pulp-ispired games with FASERIP.
Quite possibly my all-time favorite game.
 
I always wanted Justice Inc., just because the cover is awesome...

View attachment 56123

Up until 1984 I had played AD&D, Tunnels & Trolls, The Fantasy Trip, and Rolemaster — all my RP had been map-crawl fantasy. Justice, Inc. was my breakout from fantasy and from location-based adventure designs. It was my main game until I switched to ForeSight in ‘86.

I’ve always remained fond of that setting between WWI and WWII, when things were still a bit wild and wooly, parts of the worlds were exotic and even still unknown, and when world travel was adventure for a few and not the quotidian experience of many. The Saint, the Phantom, Indiana Jones….
 
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IIRC, FASERIP had at least one module (Pit of the Viper?) that had more stand-up stuff somewhat like those. It may have had more than one.

There were two (not including the extensive fold-ups that came with the main boxed set), Pit of the Viper and one just called "Fold-Up Figures"
 
Frankly, I think it's about time Indy got another shot at the RPG market. What's a good current, pulpy, cinematic system that's not Savage Worlds?

and, somewhat not for me but for millions of others, Harry Fucking Potter. As long as it didn't use 5e/6e it would change the face of roleplaying overnight.

I've get the feeling that HP is largely tied to the generation that grew up reading it. Most of those I know who are older and readers have little time or interest and it seems to be fading in popularity with the younger generation. It isn't displaying the staying power of Tolkien (not that I ever expected it to but its more rabid fans seem to think it would).
I suspect the audience for a Harry Potter RPG might skew a little older anyway. I hear Hogwarts: Legacy has been burning up the preorder charts, so there's obviously some audience still out there.
Set in a 1930 that never was, the age of Crimson Skies practically writes itself for an RPG, crossover plane combat game (be it with cards, dice, a board or book of tables or whatever). FASA had a good go at creating a fully fleshed universe and Microprose made a great PC Game back in the day.

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Oh, I would be all over this one.

A couple others I haven't seen mentioned yet - a Super Mario Brothers RPG would be timely, with the new movie coming this spring, and there's lots of lore to draw on and synthesize. The real power move would be to release that, and then do a Legend of Zelda game in the same system.

I've occasionally opined before that Tarzan's Africa might make for a good setting, giving the relatively high number of lost civilization remnants Lord Greystoke seems to stumble across. There's also expansion potential here with the Pellucidar crossover.

Finally, I want this RPG because it means someone actually made the movie:

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I have dabbled with this setting. While I never had the toys, the concept intrigued me. It should of been a cartoon too.

The Marvel comic wasn't bad. Wish the franchise had lasted longer or made a comeback, it was definitely one of my favourite toylines. The handpuppet bugs as mounts were so awesome, and The Hive playset I think was the biggest I had, like twice as tall as Castle Grayskull
 
Asmodee will be releasing a new Hellboy RPG this year. I think is coming from publisher EDGE-Studios
That's not new... it's the 5e version that I already have I think- at least that's what it looks like. Maybe it's different, but it's strange that the cover looks the same and the publisher (Mantic Games) is the same.
 
That's not new... it's the 5e version that I already have I think- at least that's what it looks like. Maybe it's different, but it's strange that the cover looks the same and the publisher (Mantic Games) is the same.

Yeah, it's the same one.
 
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