PREDICTIVE TEXT
I'm writing this before Gen Con and I'm wondering if this year we'll see any surprise announcements for new licensed rpgs. So I've decided to make five predictions that will be proven right or wrong by the time this post sees the light of day:
This list focuses on products which adapt novels, movies, video games, or comic books. I’ll generally restrict myself to official licenses. My comments offer a mix of context, commentary, description, and review. If you see something I’ve missed from 1996 to 1998, please tell me in the comments.
I'm writing this before Gen Con and I'm wondering if this year we'll see any surprise announcements for new licensed rpgs. So I've decided to make five predictions that will be proven right or wrong by the time this post sees the light of day:
- Stargate: This series has a ton of backstory and a lot of fans. I heard rumors a while back of a reboot so they may be shopping around to renew interest in the property.
- Marvel Superheroes: Not having a Marvel RPG to go along with the rise of the MCU has been a missed opportunity. Before we go into the next phase of the universe, we could get an rpg covers everything leading up to Endgame. However I doubt we'll get an actual movie-based game, given the challenge of clearing images and photos.
- Red Dead Redemption: Western RPGs have come and gone, why not attach one to a popular IP? Do it in Savage Worlds and just adapt Deadlands.
- Pokemon: Why not? Do it up as a light storygame with a deeper Poke-battle system. Create a card-driven mechanic to handle that and you have a ready set of expansions. Or even follow the Star Wars route and make unique dice for each Pokemon. Money...hand over fist.
- Harry Potter: Fantastic Beasts hasn't been the money-maker the studios hoped for, despite raking in a ton. So it could be that they'll start looking at some otherwise ignored options. Combine it with an app-based character and roller and you have a huge opportunity.
This list focuses on products which adapt novels, movies, video games, or comic books. I’ll generally restrict myself to official licenses. My comments offer a mix of context, commentary, description, and review. If you see something I’ve missed from 1996 to 1998, please tell me in the comments.
PREVIOUS LISTS
History of Licensed RPGs (Part I 1977-1983)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part II 1984-1985)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part III 1986-1989)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part IV 1990-1992)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part V 1993-1995)
History of Universal RPGs
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs
History of Steampunk & Victoriana RPGs
History of Cyberpunk RPGs
History of Superhero RPGs
History of Horror RPGs
History of Wild West RPGs
Samurai RPGs
History of Licensed RPGs (Part I 1977-1983)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part II 1984-1985)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part III 1986-1989)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part IV 1990-1992)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part V 1993-1995)
History of Universal RPGs
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs
History of Steampunk & Victoriana RPGs
History of Cyberpunk RPGs
History of Superhero RPGs
History of Horror RPGs
History of Wild West RPGs
Samurai RPGs
1. Bubblegum Crisis: Mega-Tokyo 2033 (1996)
While some in my '90s group loved Bubblegum Crisis, their fanatical enthusiasm drove me off. So I had to start from scratch figuring out this setting. Bubblegum Crisis has a group of armored vigilantes and private eyes (Knight Sabres) battling a conspiracy of mad robots and cyborgs (called Boomers). It's a near-future anime, but cyberpunk elements take a backseat to drama and tech. Like Patlabor, AD Tank Police and even Ghost in the Shell this takes its cues from Blade Runner: create a dense world, explore a slice, but don't waste time explaining.
The Bubblegum Crisis rpg is a love-letter to the series with tons of illustrations, plot speculation, background, gear write ups, and NPCs. This material begins on page 51 and runs through the rest of the 168-page volume. We have drawings of every vehicle, robot, gun, suit, and tech-y thing from the series. It’s overwhelming for someone coming in from the outside. Still I appreciate this new take on near-future superheroes: it's more Spider-Man 2099 than Legion of Superheroes.
I used to mix up R Talsorian and Dream Pod 9. Both worked heavily with cyberpunk and anime influenced material. But R Tal's distinct style shows through: dense, boxy, and full of crunch. Bubblegum Crisis uses Fuzion - an engine closer to the abstraction of Savage Worlds than the tighter balance of HERO or even GURPS. As crunchy as this system can be, it is tightly presented here. The headings make it easy to find things and the order's logical, but the text size and design makes it hard to read. Or I’m just old. Or both.
Bubblegum Crisis got two sequels: Bubblegum Crisis: Before and After and Bubblegum Crisis EX. It's worth noting that BC's game system signaled a major shift for R Talsorian. Previously Interlock had powered Cyberpunk 2020, but now the emphasis turned to R Talsorian’s semi-crowdsourced Fuzion engine.
2. GURPS (1996-98)
Steve Jackson slowed down the volume of their licensed adaptations in this period, but made up for it with appeal. GURPS Autoduel returned to one of the earliest and best supported SJG properties: Car Wars. It cleaned up the crunch to make the play both smoother and more detailed. After this SJG would slow down Car Wars-related materials.
GURPS Discworld was an even more significant release. This showcased a series which had grown in popularity and size. Rather than releasing a separate sourcebook, SJG built a complete one volume Discworld rpg. They stripped out extraneous GURPS material, keeping complexity but cutting density. The company would try this all-in-one approach again with their Hellboy RPG in 2002. Despite GURPS's crunch, SJG seemed like a good publisher. They'd mixed humor with their rpg products over the years (Illuminati, IOU, etc). Steve Jackson supported the line with a single volume, GURPS Discworld Also. In 2016 they released a new version, updated to the 4e rules.
As strong as Discworld was, their other release eclipsed it. GURPS Traveller licensed the popular sci-fi rpg which had lost ground to newer sci-fi games. It broke from standard Traveller continuity to keep it distinct. In this universe, Emperor Strephon and the Third Imperium survived. Where a lot of mainline Traveller material had focused on collapse and picking up the pieces, this version had players dealing with a strong central authority.
SJG released a second edition just a year later, including a luxury leather hardback. They supported the line through 2006 with a mix of deck plans, micro-setting supplements, and several major sourcebooks.
While some in my '90s group loved Bubblegum Crisis, their fanatical enthusiasm drove me off. So I had to start from scratch figuring out this setting. Bubblegum Crisis has a group of armored vigilantes and private eyes (Knight Sabres) battling a conspiracy of mad robots and cyborgs (called Boomers). It's a near-future anime, but cyberpunk elements take a backseat to drama and tech. Like Patlabor, AD Tank Police and even Ghost in the Shell this takes its cues from Blade Runner: create a dense world, explore a slice, but don't waste time explaining.
The Bubblegum Crisis rpg is a love-letter to the series with tons of illustrations, plot speculation, background, gear write ups, and NPCs. This material begins on page 51 and runs through the rest of the 168-page volume. We have drawings of every vehicle, robot, gun, suit, and tech-y thing from the series. It’s overwhelming for someone coming in from the outside. Still I appreciate this new take on near-future superheroes: it's more Spider-Man 2099 than Legion of Superheroes.
I used to mix up R Talsorian and Dream Pod 9. Both worked heavily with cyberpunk and anime influenced material. But R Tal's distinct style shows through: dense, boxy, and full of crunch. Bubblegum Crisis uses Fuzion - an engine closer to the abstraction of Savage Worlds than the tighter balance of HERO or even GURPS. As crunchy as this system can be, it is tightly presented here. The headings make it easy to find things and the order's logical, but the text size and design makes it hard to read. Or I’m just old. Or both.
Bubblegum Crisis got two sequels: Bubblegum Crisis: Before and After and Bubblegum Crisis EX. It's worth noting that BC's game system signaled a major shift for R Talsorian. Previously Interlock had powered Cyberpunk 2020, but now the emphasis turned to R Talsorian’s semi-crowdsourced Fuzion engine.
2. GURPS (1996-98)
Steve Jackson slowed down the volume of their licensed adaptations in this period, but made up for it with appeal. GURPS Autoduel returned to one of the earliest and best supported SJG properties: Car Wars. It cleaned up the crunch to make the play both smoother and more detailed. After this SJG would slow down Car Wars-related materials.
GURPS Discworld was an even more significant release. This showcased a series which had grown in popularity and size. Rather than releasing a separate sourcebook, SJG built a complete one volume Discworld rpg. They stripped out extraneous GURPS material, keeping complexity but cutting density. The company would try this all-in-one approach again with their Hellboy RPG in 2002. Despite GURPS's crunch, SJG seemed like a good publisher. They'd mixed humor with their rpg products over the years (Illuminati, IOU, etc). Steve Jackson supported the line with a single volume, GURPS Discworld Also. In 2016 they released a new version, updated to the 4e rules.
As strong as Discworld was, their other release eclipsed it. GURPS Traveller licensed the popular sci-fi rpg which had lost ground to newer sci-fi games. It broke from standard Traveller continuity to keep it distinct. In this universe, Emperor Strephon and the Third Imperium survived. Where a lot of mainline Traveller material had focused on collapse and picking up the pieces, this version had players dealing with a strong central authority.
SJG released a second edition just a year later, including a luxury leather hardback. They supported the line through 2006 with a mix of deck plans, micro-setting supplements, and several major sourcebooks.
3. Legend of the Five Rings (1996)
Legend of the Five Rings originated as a CCG from Five Ring Publishing which eventually morphed into Alderac Entertainment Group. It had three big selling points when it debuted. First, it covered a novel fantastic Asian/samurai setting. Second, it had a strong, connected and evolving story. Other CCGs of the era built some backstory, but the idea of the new card sets changing characters and moving the plot forward would be central to L5R. The results events at conventions would impact the story's course. Third, the game itself would have a beginning, middle, and an end. There would be only the specified number of sets and then the game would be done. Of course, that last part didn't exactly happen.
The original CCG set can be called the Rise of Fu Leng or Seven Thunders set, but I'll refer to as the Imperial Edition. It covered the rise of a great evil-- well more than one-- the subversion of one of the great clans, the battles for power and finally the changing of the Imperial line. The game itself suggested events of the time before the CCG, a long history stretching back for generations.
When Alderac created the rpg, they chose to set the campaign world before that of the CCG. That placed it before the card game's destruction of status quo. The rpg set itself earlier, but how much earlier remained vague. Characters from the CCG appeared in the L5R 1e rules and supplements. Hints at what was to come hung over the game.
But several issues put pressure on the rpg. Alderac published Clan War, the miniatures game set in the L5R world. Timeline-wise the game was set after the rpg but before the events of the Imperial Edition. More importantly despite the CCG's supposed completion, Alderac produced new sets of cards. The Jade Edition's story arc took up from then end of the Imperial Edition. Around this time WotC IP for the L5R ccg, licensing rpg rights to AEG.
Later L5R rpg 1e publications attempted to reconcile the rpg and the ccg, while moving the timeline forward. Doing so meant throwing away a chunk of earlier material. AEG produced Legend of the Five Rings (2nd Edition) which brought the timeline up to the start of the Imperial Edition CCG. The new edition split the core book and revised the basic system to the irritation of many players. It ignored some problems - keeping the Scorpion Clan as a playable element and so on. Later products like Winter Court: Kyuden Asako and Time of the Void tried to form a bridge. The later sourcebook covered the whole of the Imperial Edition story arc.
The story problems became even greater once AEG tried to integrate L5R with d20. TSR reworked the old Oriental Adventures (ugh) into a mish-mash of L5R and non-L5R elements. They followed this with Rokugan sourcebook focusing exclusively on the L5R side of things. This moved the timeline forward towards the CCG's Hidden Emperor arc, trying to take into account many oddities from the CCG (like the Spirit Wars). AEG produced several supplements which attempted to make these things clearer. The metastory ground forward, trying to keep in line with the current CCG arc. Then AEG reacquired the L5R property released a third edition which updated to the present card game version.
Eventually they gave up on trying to stick with continuity. L5R's fourth edition set things more "timelessly." It offered tools to play in many different eras. However towards the end of that product line, AEG sold the property to FFG. Their fifth edition would reset everything to match their new CCG continuity. That brought things almost full circle, since that story parallel's the original Imperial Arc more than anything else.
As you can probably tell from the length of this entry, I have a soft spot for L5R. I own almost everything through 4th edition, though I've never played with the actual system. I have to admit its only been the last four or five years that I've realized the problematic nature of the game beyond the "good girl" art and the frequently whitewashed faces.
4. Masterbook
This was the final curtain for WEG's Masterbook series of licensed games. Only two such settings came out for the generic system: Tales from the Crypt and Aden.
If Deadlands is an example of a cartooony horror rpg that works, Tales from the Crypt isn't. It's another licenses where I think "really? that's what you wanted to put your creative energy into?". TftC may have the most amazing campaign set-up and premise, but based on the and marketing copy, I can't tell. Even after hunting the internet, I still don't know if they had much beyond gotcha stories to throw your players into. I've looked at Cryptic Campaigns, a GM's Cryptkeeper's supplement for it. The remarkably ugly book opens by making an argument about why TftC is a better horror game than others, claiming to truly be about the human condition. The material which follows offers an interesting but generic discussion of horror games with little insight into what the rpg brings to the table.
As for Aden, well I came late to computer rpgs. I never played Zork, Bard's Tale, Wizardry, Ultima, Gold Box D&D, or any of the other classics. Might & Magic VI provided my first taste of that genre. Drawn from an SSI computer game, World of Aden has a sword & sorcery setting with a Thundarr or even steampunk vibe to it. It’s built on an obscure trilogy of novels. Only one volume appears to be in print; with a review by Shawn Carman on Amazon. West End Games, in their explosion of licenses for MasterBook, went into production based on those novels and a pair of games. Aden has an event called the Darkfall destroying civilization, making it post-apocalyptic with hints of lost technology. Though it didn't do well for WEG, there was enough interest in the setting to recently Kickstart of a Pathfinder version of the setting.
Legend of the Five Rings originated as a CCG from Five Ring Publishing which eventually morphed into Alderac Entertainment Group. It had three big selling points when it debuted. First, it covered a novel fantastic Asian/samurai setting. Second, it had a strong, connected and evolving story. Other CCGs of the era built some backstory, but the idea of the new card sets changing characters and moving the plot forward would be central to L5R. The results events at conventions would impact the story's course. Third, the game itself would have a beginning, middle, and an end. There would be only the specified number of sets and then the game would be done. Of course, that last part didn't exactly happen.
The original CCG set can be called the Rise of Fu Leng or Seven Thunders set, but I'll refer to as the Imperial Edition. It covered the rise of a great evil-- well more than one-- the subversion of one of the great clans, the battles for power and finally the changing of the Imperial line. The game itself suggested events of the time before the CCG, a long history stretching back for generations.
When Alderac created the rpg, they chose to set the campaign world before that of the CCG. That placed it before the card game's destruction of status quo. The rpg set itself earlier, but how much earlier remained vague. Characters from the CCG appeared in the L5R 1e rules and supplements. Hints at what was to come hung over the game.
But several issues put pressure on the rpg. Alderac published Clan War, the miniatures game set in the L5R world. Timeline-wise the game was set after the rpg but before the events of the Imperial Edition. More importantly despite the CCG's supposed completion, Alderac produced new sets of cards. The Jade Edition's story arc took up from then end of the Imperial Edition. Around this time WotC IP for the L5R ccg, licensing rpg rights to AEG.
Later L5R rpg 1e publications attempted to reconcile the rpg and the ccg, while moving the timeline forward. Doing so meant throwing away a chunk of earlier material. AEG produced Legend of the Five Rings (2nd Edition) which brought the timeline up to the start of the Imperial Edition CCG. The new edition split the core book and revised the basic system to the irritation of many players. It ignored some problems - keeping the Scorpion Clan as a playable element and so on. Later products like Winter Court: Kyuden Asako and Time of the Void tried to form a bridge. The later sourcebook covered the whole of the Imperial Edition story arc.
The story problems became even greater once AEG tried to integrate L5R with d20. TSR reworked the old Oriental Adventures (ugh) into a mish-mash of L5R and non-L5R elements. They followed this with Rokugan sourcebook focusing exclusively on the L5R side of things. This moved the timeline forward towards the CCG's Hidden Emperor arc, trying to take into account many oddities from the CCG (like the Spirit Wars). AEG produced several supplements which attempted to make these things clearer. The metastory ground forward, trying to keep in line with the current CCG arc. Then AEG reacquired the L5R property released a third edition which updated to the present card game version.
Eventually they gave up on trying to stick with continuity. L5R's fourth edition set things more "timelessly." It offered tools to play in many different eras. However towards the end of that product line, AEG sold the property to FFG. Their fifth edition would reset everything to match their new CCG continuity. That brought things almost full circle, since that story parallel's the original Imperial Arc more than anything else.
As you can probably tell from the length of this entry, I have a soft spot for L5R. I own almost everything through 4th edition, though I've never played with the actual system. I have to admit its only been the last four or five years that I've realized the problematic nature of the game beyond the "good girl" art and the frequently whitewashed faces.
4. Masterbook
This was the final curtain for WEG's Masterbook series of licensed games. Only two such settings came out for the generic system: Tales from the Crypt and Aden.
If Deadlands is an example of a cartooony horror rpg that works, Tales from the Crypt isn't. It's another licenses where I think "really? that's what you wanted to put your creative energy into?". TftC may have the most amazing campaign set-up and premise, but based on the and marketing copy, I can't tell. Even after hunting the internet, I still don't know if they had much beyond gotcha stories to throw your players into. I've looked at Cryptic Campaigns, a GM's Cryptkeeper's supplement for it. The remarkably ugly book opens by making an argument about why TftC is a better horror game than others, claiming to truly be about the human condition. The material which follows offers an interesting but generic discussion of horror games with little insight into what the rpg brings to the table.
As for Aden, well I came late to computer rpgs. I never played Zork, Bard's Tale, Wizardry, Ultima, Gold Box D&D, or any of the other classics. Might & Magic VI provided my first taste of that genre. Drawn from an SSI computer game, World of Aden has a sword & sorcery setting with a Thundarr or even steampunk vibe to it. It’s built on an obscure trilogy of novels. Only one volume appears to be in print; with a review by Shawn Carman on Amazon. West End Games, in their explosion of licenses for MasterBook, went into production based on those novels and a pair of games. Aden has an event called the Darkfall destroying civilization, making it post-apocalyptic with hints of lost technology. Though it didn't do well for WEG, there was enough interest in the setting to recently Kickstart of a Pathfinder version of the setting.
5. Star Wars Roleplaying Game - Revised Edition (1996)
Though I've covered WEG Star Wars earlier editions on this list, it's worth coming back to mention this revised edition, Here WEG attempted to bring in new players and also add enough mechanical tweaks to make old hands buy the game. It wouldn't be their last SW item; the following year they released an Introductory set to coincide with the Star Wars Special Editions. This revised edition would be one more attempt to make the perfect Star Wars game engine.
For years I heard (and assumed) that this final version made only minor rules tweaks. But its clear that WEG made more substantial changes: simplifying some elements and increasing the complexity of others. Peter Schweighofer offers perhaps the best and most comprehensive analysis of these editions. Interestingly while he used to see this final edition as the best, in recent years he's leaned back to the simplicity of the first edition. There's also a RPG Geek post examining the mechanical differences.
6. The Babylon Project (1997)
It's difficult to describe how hard it could be to actually watch Babylon 5 when it came out. It originally aired on the now forgotten Warner Brothers Prime Time Entertainment Network. That meant you might not even have a local affiliate in your area. Or as in my case you might have a co-affiliate which broadcast episodes at weird and frequently changed times. Like many, I ended up watching the series via homemade VHS tapes shuffled around among friends.
The Babylon Project RPG came from Chameleon Eclectic, publisher of Millennium's End and Psychosis: Ship of Fools. The late 80's and early '90s had a bunch of these small publishers who gambled on a couple of distinct, highly produced products to make their name - most of which ended up in discount bins. CE spent a good deal on advertising in the magazines of the time like Pyramid and Shadis.
Surprisingly for the era Babylon Project is a relatively light story game with a simple resolution mechanic. Players generally expected sci-fi games to have high crunch and detail ala Traveller and FASA's Star Trek. TBP was well done and had some good source material for the series - though the show wasn't yet complete yet. Chameleon Ecletic released two supplements - an Earthforce sourcebook and a GM's Resource Kit. Mongoose would give the license another go six years later, as well will see later on these lists.
Though I've covered WEG Star Wars earlier editions on this list, it's worth coming back to mention this revised edition, Here WEG attempted to bring in new players and also add enough mechanical tweaks to make old hands buy the game. It wouldn't be their last SW item; the following year they released an Introductory set to coincide with the Star Wars Special Editions. This revised edition would be one more attempt to make the perfect Star Wars game engine.
For years I heard (and assumed) that this final version made only minor rules tweaks. But its clear that WEG made more substantial changes: simplifying some elements and increasing the complexity of others. Peter Schweighofer offers perhaps the best and most comprehensive analysis of these editions. Interestingly while he used to see this final edition as the best, in recent years he's leaned back to the simplicity of the first edition. There's also a RPG Geek post examining the mechanical differences.
6. The Babylon Project (1997)
It's difficult to describe how hard it could be to actually watch Babylon 5 when it came out. It originally aired on the now forgotten Warner Brothers Prime Time Entertainment Network. That meant you might not even have a local affiliate in your area. Or as in my case you might have a co-affiliate which broadcast episodes at weird and frequently changed times. Like many, I ended up watching the series via homemade VHS tapes shuffled around among friends.
The Babylon Project RPG came from Chameleon Eclectic, publisher of Millennium's End and Psychosis: Ship of Fools. The late 80's and early '90s had a bunch of these small publishers who gambled on a couple of distinct, highly produced products to make their name - most of which ended up in discount bins. CE spent a good deal on advertising in the magazines of the time like Pyramid and Shadis.
Surprisingly for the era Babylon Project is a relatively light story game with a simple resolution mechanic. Players generally expected sci-fi games to have high crunch and detail ala Traveller and FASA's Star Trek. TBP was well done and had some good source material for the series - though the show wasn't yet complete yet. Chameleon Ecletic released two supplements - an Earthforce sourcebook and a GM's Resource Kit. Mongoose would give the license another go six years later, as well will see later on these lists.
7. Cthulhu Live (1997)
There's a whole distinct history of LARP, but for many I'd wager White Wolf's Mind's Eye Theater and VtM live-action first exposed them to this world. They sold extremely well and spawned an active gaming sub-culture. In the same era a few other lines offered modest live-play alternatives (Fading Suns, L5R), but they never matched MET's reach and support.
But Cthulhu Live represented the first major competitor: combining a popular IP with sourcebooks and decent convention support. Chaosium's first edition consisted only of a core book. Three years later Fantasy Flight picked it up for a second edition. They delivered three supplements, including one for Pagan's Delta Green. In 2006 Skirmisher Publishing took up the game for a third edition, which they have supported up to the present. Sourcebooks include a companion and multiple scripts. Those cover a wide range of settings like ancient Rome (Arcanum Imperli), Bohemian Paris (The Green Fairy), and WW2 Balkans (Witchfinder).
8. Dark Earth Campaign Setting (1997)
As I said above, I came late to playing computer and video games. I only put the hours in with the Playstation, drawn by Final Fantasy Tactics and SSX. I didn't buy a PC game until my 30's. I remember desperately trying to get the sound card to work in the DOS prompt on those clunky machines. Programs interacted weirdly with video cards, so one out of four games I bought just wouldn't work. I plucked Dark Earth and its strategy guide off the EB Games discount rack. When I couldn't get it to run, I loaned it to my friend Barry. He loved the weird look of this game and spent hours on it until a catastrophic bug stopped his progress. I experienced Dark Earth second-hand through Barry's stories.
Until I discovered Dark Earth had a tabletop rpg. I'd forgotten the computer game completely. Released in France, Dark Earth’s setting opens with a meteor strike igniting the Great Cataclysm. Survivors find themselves in a shadow world, with sunlight obscured by dust clouds. Monsters of darkness attack and humanity flees to the few sunlit places. These refuges serve as the primary locale for the game. Dark Earth's setting has an interesting mix of classic post-apocalypse and supernatural elements. Dark Earth looks distinctive, reminding me of Timothy Truman designs.
While the video game scored well, it didn't do well enough to earn a PS2 port or a sequel. Despite that, French publisher Multisim released this tabletop rpg in parallel with the PC game. Dark Earth expands the setting and did well enough to generate a host of supplements including hefty faction sourcebooks, location books, a GM screen, and a module. Not only that, Multisim went on to release a second edition in '99 which also received five supplements. It’s amazing to see a beautiful and heavily supported line which never got any attention here in the States.
There's a whole distinct history of LARP, but for many I'd wager White Wolf's Mind's Eye Theater and VtM live-action first exposed them to this world. They sold extremely well and spawned an active gaming sub-culture. In the same era a few other lines offered modest live-play alternatives (Fading Suns, L5R), but they never matched MET's reach and support.
But Cthulhu Live represented the first major competitor: combining a popular IP with sourcebooks and decent convention support. Chaosium's first edition consisted only of a core book. Three years later Fantasy Flight picked it up for a second edition. They delivered three supplements, including one for Pagan's Delta Green. In 2006 Skirmisher Publishing took up the game for a third edition, which they have supported up to the present. Sourcebooks include a companion and multiple scripts. Those cover a wide range of settings like ancient Rome (Arcanum Imperli), Bohemian Paris (The Green Fairy), and WW2 Balkans (Witchfinder).
8. Dark Earth Campaign Setting (1997)
As I said above, I came late to playing computer and video games. I only put the hours in with the Playstation, drawn by Final Fantasy Tactics and SSX. I didn't buy a PC game until my 30's. I remember desperately trying to get the sound card to work in the DOS prompt on those clunky machines. Programs interacted weirdly with video cards, so one out of four games I bought just wouldn't work. I plucked Dark Earth and its strategy guide off the EB Games discount rack. When I couldn't get it to run, I loaned it to my friend Barry. He loved the weird look of this game and spent hours on it until a catastrophic bug stopped his progress. I experienced Dark Earth second-hand through Barry's stories.
Until I discovered Dark Earth had a tabletop rpg. I'd forgotten the computer game completely. Released in France, Dark Earth’s setting opens with a meteor strike igniting the Great Cataclysm. Survivors find themselves in a shadow world, with sunlight obscured by dust clouds. Monsters of darkness attack and humanity flees to the few sunlit places. These refuges serve as the primary locale for the game. Dark Earth's setting has an interesting mix of classic post-apocalypse and supernatural elements. Dark Earth looks distinctive, reminding me of Timothy Truman designs.
While the video game scored well, it didn't do well enough to earn a PS2 port or a sequel. Despite that, French publisher Multisim released this tabletop rpg in parallel with the PC game. Dark Earth expands the setting and did well enough to generate a host of supplements including hefty faction sourcebooks, location books, a GM screen, and a module. Not only that, Multisim went on to release a second edition in '99 which also received five supplements. It’s amazing to see a beautiful and heavily supported line which never got any attention here in the States.
9. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Role-Playing Game Book (1997)
A nicely put together one-volume mini-rpg. Includes several sheets of perforated cards for characters, dinosaurs, and plant life. The actual rules are only two pages long. The book includes three short "Choose Your Own Adventure" style stories, so no GM is needed. Beyond the cards it has good background material in the form of journal pages from each of the eight characters. An unusual tie-in rpoduct, more CYOA in the British style than conventional rpg. Jurassic Collectables (sic) has a video looking at the product in detail.
10. Men In Black: The Roleplaying Game (1997)
By this point, West End Games realized the error they'd made with Masterbook. They game had used the more arcane (and interesting) TORG mechanics, rather than WEG's more accessible and better known d6 System. As the ship began to go down, they tried to pivot back the other way.
MIB:tRPG uses that d6 system and WEG clearly hoped to capitalize on what could be a booming franchise. The rpg leans into that heavily, though more source material exists from the original comic book MiB's based on. It aims for a loose, light adaptation of the d6 system, closer to Ghostbusters than Star Wars. WEG took a gamble with their publishing program as well. At a time when most companies had given up on "Beginner Boxes" they released a MIB Introductory Box set with lots of handouts and bits.
Beyond that they published the softcover corebook, a Director's guide with screen and adventure, and the first volume of their Alien Recognition Guide. These all launched in rapid succession. Clearly WEG hoped to spark a fire with this one, but it was not to be.
A nicely put together one-volume mini-rpg. Includes several sheets of perforated cards for characters, dinosaurs, and plant life. The actual rules are only two pages long. The book includes three short "Choose Your Own Adventure" style stories, so no GM is needed. Beyond the cards it has good background material in the form of journal pages from each of the eight characters. An unusual tie-in rpoduct, more CYOA in the British style than conventional rpg. Jurassic Collectables (sic) has a video looking at the product in detail.
10. Men In Black: The Roleplaying Game (1997)
By this point, West End Games realized the error they'd made with Masterbook. They game had used the more arcane (and interesting) TORG mechanics, rather than WEG's more accessible and better known d6 System. As the ship began to go down, they tried to pivot back the other way.
MIB:tRPG uses that d6 system and WEG clearly hoped to capitalize on what could be a booming franchise. The rpg leans into that heavily, though more source material exists from the original comic book MiB's based on. It aims for a loose, light adaptation of the d6 system, closer to Ghostbusters than Star Wars. WEG took a gamble with their publishing program as well. At a time when most companies had given up on "Beginner Boxes" they released a MIB Introductory Box set with lots of handouts and bits.
Beyond that they published the softcover corebook, a Director's guide with screen and adventure, and the first volume of their Alien Recognition Guide. These all launched in rapid succession. Clearly WEG hoped to spark a fire with this one, but it was not to be.
11. Usagi Yojimbo Role-Playing Game (1997)
Usagi Yojimbo's one of the great underrated comics, universally praised and deserving of wider audience. As a continuous artistic achievement, it's incredible. Gold Rush Games published this slim adaptation of the comic in 1997. It used a streamlined version of the Fuzion system they invested in. That's been described as a hybrid of Interlock and Champions. In the mid-1990's Fuzion was one of the first systems being developed with input and feedback from their gaming community.
This version's well done, but fairly light. It has a modest amount of UY background, including a new comic, and some general material on samurai games. It's notable for including an appendix with a conversion for FUDGE. GRG released a single bestiary supplement, UY Monsters!. In 2004 Sanguine Productions took over the UY license with a completely different system.
12. Hercules & Xena (1998)
As I mentioned above, starter boxed sets had gone out of vogue by the late 1990s, but WEG doubled down. Hercules and Xena this isn't a small product. The box contains a 96 page player guide, 112 page setting and rules book, GM screen, 3 16 page adventures, and 6 custom "Chakram" dice. Though they also released the players' book as a separate item, this would be the everything for the Hercules & Xena game.
The game itself used a modified D6 System, which came to be called the D6 Legend system. Reviewers had a mixed response to the game. Some find the revised system strong and background material useful. But they also point to rules contradictions, weird writing, and the lack of an index. H&X came out just as West End Games filed for bankruptcy. Interestingly WEG had a half-completed Stargate SG-1 RPG in the pipeline that would never see the light of day.
Usagi Yojimbo's one of the great underrated comics, universally praised and deserving of wider audience. As a continuous artistic achievement, it's incredible. Gold Rush Games published this slim adaptation of the comic in 1997. It used a streamlined version of the Fuzion system they invested in. That's been described as a hybrid of Interlock and Champions. In the mid-1990's Fuzion was one of the first systems being developed with input and feedback from their gaming community.
This version's well done, but fairly light. It has a modest amount of UY background, including a new comic, and some general material on samurai games. It's notable for including an appendix with a conversion for FUDGE. GRG released a single bestiary supplement, UY Monsters!. In 2004 Sanguine Productions took over the UY license with a completely different system.
12. Hercules & Xena (1998)
As I mentioned above, starter boxed sets had gone out of vogue by the late 1990s, but WEG doubled down. Hercules and Xena this isn't a small product. The box contains a 96 page player guide, 112 page setting and rules book, GM screen, 3 16 page adventures, and 6 custom "Chakram" dice. Though they also released the players' book as a separate item, this would be the everything for the Hercules & Xena game.
The game itself used a modified D6 System, which came to be called the D6 Legend system. Reviewers had a mixed response to the game. Some find the revised system strong and background material useful. But they also point to rules contradictions, weird writing, and the lack of an index. H&X came out just as West End Games filed for bankruptcy. Interestingly WEG had a half-completed Stargate SG-1 RPG in the pipeline that would never see the light of day.
13. Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game (1998)
TSR tried to spark a completely new approach to supers with this rpg. It took their Marvel universe license and married it to Dragonlance: Fifth Age's card-driven SAGA rules. That's different from the WotC Star Wars: Saga Edition which came out ten years later (which confused me). Despite having many interesting supplements, this version of Marvel never popped up on my radar. I missed it completely at the time.
The game's a striking and brave move on TSR's part- shifting a major license like that to a non-standard system. Apparently it worked, judging by the high ratings on RPGGeek and other review sites. It's hard to tell from just reading the rules how well it plays, given the card-driven nature of the system. I say that as someone philosophically in favor of card-based games. I had a good time going reading the corebook; it has the clean and open presentation of top-notch TSR products. Players I spoke to thought the game rocked-- with a system that allows for fast play without getting bogged down.
Interestingly Marvel has had four rpg versions and DC has had three. Each Marvel Universe rpg has been experimental or at least distinctly abstract. MSH used trait descriptors, karma spends, and some diceless effects. MSHAG goes completely diceless, with a card system involving suits, trumping, and hand management. The Marvel Universe RPG removes randomizers to create a game of resource management. Finally, the short-lived Marvel Heroic highly abstracts powers and conflicts, with relationships and other traits as important as mutant abilities. On the other hand, each DC game has been crunchy, rules heavier, and more concrete. Even the lightest of them, DC Universe, gives full power breakdowns with its use of the WEG d6 system. Does that say something about the respective universes involved? About the companies? Or is that purely an accident of fate?
14. The Sailor Moon Roleplaying Game and Resource Book (1998)
I'm not a big Sailor Moon fan; I prefer contemporaries Revolutionary Girl Utena and Blue Seed. But I appreciate what that show did- combining episodic elements with a long running mythology. Sailor Moon's a cl;ear riff on superhero tropes- with costumes, secret identities, and a team with differing powers. Guardians of Order's The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book smartly positions itself for the market outside of gaming. It uses the Tri-Stat system with surprising detail. I expected less gaming material and more discussion of the background (ala Bubblegum Crisis: Mega-Tokyo 2033). Instead it splits pretty evenly and has an extensive GM advice section. Worth tracking down for anyone interested in the magical girl genre.
TSR tried to spark a completely new approach to supers with this rpg. It took their Marvel universe license and married it to Dragonlance: Fifth Age's card-driven SAGA rules. That's different from the WotC Star Wars: Saga Edition which came out ten years later (which confused me). Despite having many interesting supplements, this version of Marvel never popped up on my radar. I missed it completely at the time.
The game's a striking and brave move on TSR's part- shifting a major license like that to a non-standard system. Apparently it worked, judging by the high ratings on RPGGeek and other review sites. It's hard to tell from just reading the rules how well it plays, given the card-driven nature of the system. I say that as someone philosophically in favor of card-based games. I had a good time going reading the corebook; it has the clean and open presentation of top-notch TSR products. Players I spoke to thought the game rocked-- with a system that allows for fast play without getting bogged down.
Interestingly Marvel has had four rpg versions and DC has had three. Each Marvel Universe rpg has been experimental or at least distinctly abstract. MSH used trait descriptors, karma spends, and some diceless effects. MSHAG goes completely diceless, with a card system involving suits, trumping, and hand management. The Marvel Universe RPG removes randomizers to create a game of resource management. Finally, the short-lived Marvel Heroic highly abstracts powers and conflicts, with relationships and other traits as important as mutant abilities. On the other hand, each DC game has been crunchy, rules heavier, and more concrete. Even the lightest of them, DC Universe, gives full power breakdowns with its use of the WEG d6 system. Does that say something about the respective universes involved? About the companies? Or is that purely an accident of fate?
14. The Sailor Moon Roleplaying Game and Resource Book (1998)
I'm not a big Sailor Moon fan; I prefer contemporaries Revolutionary Girl Utena and Blue Seed. But I appreciate what that show did- combining episodic elements with a long running mythology. Sailor Moon's a cl;ear riff on superhero tropes- with costumes, secret identities, and a team with differing powers. Guardians of Order's The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book smartly positions itself for the market outside of gaming. It uses the Tri-Stat system with surprising detail. I expected less gaming material and more discussion of the background (ala Bubblegum Crisis: Mega-Tokyo 2033). Instead it splits pretty evenly and has an extensive GM advice section. Worth tracking down for anyone interested in the magical girl genre.
15. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1998)
Last Unicorn Games is another '90s company that made a splash and then burned out. They started with the striking Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth, and then got caught up the CCG boom/bust with Heresy, a game with unique tarot-sized cards. That crashed, but somehow from there they managed to pick up the Star Trek rpg license. Terms of agreement forced them to release the different series as distinct core books, rather than having a single compiled game (ala Modiphius' Star Trek Adventures).
Next Generation got the bulk of the publisher's attention. They released a host of supplements for this line including boxed sets, adventures, GM & Player's guides, and more. Last Unicorn also released products for two other series: Deep Space Nine and The Original Series. Both received a core book, a GM Screen set, and a single sourcebook.
These games used LUG's a d6 pool Icon system. Players roll d6's equal to an attribute, take the highest result and add that to a skill. An additional die of a different color also shaped the results if you rolled a 1 or a 6. There's division online about how well this works. Some felt it did a good job of replicating the feel of Star Trek while others object to both the use of skill specialties and the efficiency of buying attributes over skills. The rules also had a unique online component. Places would be marked in the text, indicating that LUG would later be adding more to this via online postings.
Within a couple of years, Last Unicorn lost the Star Trek license to Decipher, at that time publisher of the Star Trek CCG). LUG had multiple projects in the works at varying stages of completion (including a Voyager game). Several authors would later post their incomplete materials online. But the loss of Star Trek wouldn't be the final nail in their coffin. That would come on our next list...
PREVIOUS LISTS
History of Licensed RPGs (Part I 1977-1983)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part II 1984-1985)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part III 1986-1989)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part IV 1990-1992)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part V 1993-1995)
History of Universal RPGs
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs
History of Steampunk & Victoriana RPGs
History of Cyberpunk RPGs
History of Superhero RPGs
History of Horror RPGs
History of Wild West RPGs
Samurai RPGs
Last Unicorn Games is another '90s company that made a splash and then burned out. They started with the striking Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth, and then got caught up the CCG boom/bust with Heresy, a game with unique tarot-sized cards. That crashed, but somehow from there they managed to pick up the Star Trek rpg license. Terms of agreement forced them to release the different series as distinct core books, rather than having a single compiled game (ala Modiphius' Star Trek Adventures).
Next Generation got the bulk of the publisher's attention. They released a host of supplements for this line including boxed sets, adventures, GM & Player's guides, and more. Last Unicorn also released products for two other series: Deep Space Nine and The Original Series. Both received a core book, a GM Screen set, and a single sourcebook.
These games used LUG's a d6 pool Icon system. Players roll d6's equal to an attribute, take the highest result and add that to a skill. An additional die of a different color also shaped the results if you rolled a 1 or a 6. There's division online about how well this works. Some felt it did a good job of replicating the feel of Star Trek while others object to both the use of skill specialties and the efficiency of buying attributes over skills. The rules also had a unique online component. Places would be marked in the text, indicating that LUG would later be adding more to this via online postings.
Within a couple of years, Last Unicorn lost the Star Trek license to Decipher, at that time publisher of the Star Trek CCG). LUG had multiple projects in the works at varying stages of completion (including a Voyager game). Several authors would later post their incomplete materials online. But the loss of Star Trek wouldn't be the final nail in their coffin. That would come on our next list...
PREVIOUS LISTS
History of Licensed RPGs (Part I 1977-1983)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part II 1984-1985)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part III 1986-1989)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part IV 1990-1992)
History of Licensed RPGs (Part V 1993-1995)
History of Universal RPGs
History of Post-Apocalyptic RPGs
History of Steampunk & Victoriana RPGs
History of Cyberpunk RPGs
History of Superhero RPGs
History of Horror RPGs
History of Wild West RPGs
Samurai RPGs
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