|


You
have reached the first page of the Adventurer's Atlas, which includes
Anthropomorphia, Cliffhanger Falls, and Familiar Worlds
  
The land of
talking, upright-walking, opposable-thumb-having critters. If you've
always wanted to be an animal or insect who walks, talks, and
seeks adventure, then this is the place to be.
There are many RPGs available for fans of
intelligent animals, but you certainly aren't limited to the choices
listed here. Any RPG at all can be converted into an anthro game with
little effort - you can easily change the races and/or classes in
any RPG ruleset into animal types ("Dwarves are now BADGERS in my
game!"). It may require a bit of rule tweaking for things like natural
weapons and abilities, but researching and learning about such things
and creatively interpreting them in your game is all part of the
fun!
| BUGGIN' |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
Deep7
Cover Price: $3.95
Availability:
Available at Deep7's website, deep7.com
Summary: A
mini-RPG about cartoon insects.
Complexity: Easy
Dice
used: d6s [?]
Supplements: None.
The Good:
Inexpensive. Great for one-shot adventures
The Bad: Character death is easy (though this could
easily be changed)
Advisory: Cartoon
violence.
1PG games are a series of role-playing
games with one page of rules, a character sheet, and a handful of
scenarios, all at a very affordable price. The games are rules-lite - in fact, the entire rule set fits on a single page.
Buggin' is an RPG about
anthropomorphic bugs that have adventures, and would be a great match
for any young people who enjoy movies like Bug's Life.
Find out more about these
mini-RPGs at
the 1PG atlas
entry.
Return to the directory
|
| BUNNIES &
BURROWS |
|
Publisher:
Steve Jackson Games
Cover Price:
$12.95 PDF / $10.00 - $12.00 (used)
Availability: PDF
is available at e23,
or check game stores or eBay
for a print copy.
Summary: Rabbits
have adventures and defend their warren
Complexity: Medium
Dice used: d6s -
at least three, preferably three for each player [?]
Supplements: None
The Good:
Encourages limited-ability problem solving (no opposable thumbs, cannot
count past 4)
The Bad: Not a
standalone game, requires the GURPS rulebook (though a lite version of
the rules is available for free here).
Advisory:
Supernatural themes, small amount of kung-fu violence.
Bunnies & Burrows is
a rewrite of an earlier RPG based on the Watership Down
book and film. Players create rabbits as characters and adventure in a
world where almost everyone is your predator.
These aren't Saturday-morning cartoon
bunnies, however. They can't manipulate objects very well, or count
past four, and they're scared of any loud noises. They're very much
like the rabbits you may find at the park or in your backyard - except
for the things that make them very unique.
Some practice Herbalism, and can use
different plants to heal comrades or attack opponents. Some are Seers,
and can attempt to see the future. Some are trained in Bun Fu, the
ancient art of rabbit combat. All are heroes when it comes to
protecting the warren and its occupants from harm.
Bunnies & Burrows
uses the GURPS rules, and the book by itself is not enough to play - to
use GURPS, you'll either need to get a copy of the rules (the third
edition is compatible with B&B, but an
updated fourth edition is also available), or download a free copy of
GURPS Lite, which will give you enough to get a game going. Since this
is a GURPS book, it also would be possible (with a bit of work) to
convert the system to something else that you and your players are more
familiar with.
The B&B
book contains a lot of factual information about different breeds of
rabbits and other wild animals, but it also contains information on
psionic abilities, martial arts, and other fantasy elements that are
not part of the nature of rabbits or other animals. You may want to
clarify that to your players, especially if you are taking the
opportunity to use the game to teach a little bit of natural science to
them.
Return to the directory
|
| CAT |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
John Wick
Cover Price: $5.00
Availability: Buy
the PDF here
at DriveThru RPG.
Review coming soon!
Return to the directory
|
| ECO |
|
Publisher:
Morrigan Press
Cover Price: $10.00
Availability: Buy
the PDF here
at DriveThruRPG
Review coming soon!
Return to the
directory
|
| THE NIGHTTIME
ANIMALS SAVE THE WORLD |
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
Diceless (Uses 4 types of coins) |
Publisher:
Vincent Baker
Cover Price: FREE!
Availability:
Download the game here.
Summary: A simple
storytelling game
Complexity: Easy
Dice used: None,
but you will need a bit of loose change - pennies, nickels, dimes, and
quarters.
Supplements: None.
The Good:
Very easy to play. Encourages outdoor
play. Playable anywhere, and the system is usable for any kind of
simple storytelling. No character death.
The Bad: Nothing.
Advisory: None.
This is a very rules-lite storytelling
game designed to be played
while going out for an evening walk. The GM and players each choose
three different coins before the game starts, and the players create
their characters by choosing a nighttime animal (from opossum, rabbit,
raccoon, or skunk) and describing a bad feeling that they have towards
the other characters (with the hope that such feelings will help drive
the story).
The story begins when you begin your
walk. During the
story, the coins are used whenever a "dangerous" story
conflict
arises. If a nighttime animal attempts to run from a badger, for
example, the GM will announce the danger - "The danger is that the
badger might catch up with you and tackle you." The GM then presents a
coin to the player, who must respond with a different coin. If the
player's coin is higher, his character avoids the danger, but if the
GM's coin is higher, then the danger plays out just as the GM described
it. The two then exchange coins, and continue the story.
It is a simple and ingenious
storytelling system, not only for the mechanics, but the materials used
as well. Almost
everyone has access to loose change most of the time, and the rules of
play are simple enough to commit to memory and be used anywhere.
Return to the
directory
|
| TOON |
|
While not specifically an anthropomorphic RPG, Toon does provide the opportunity to play anthro animals in lots of situations, and two of the supplement books (Tooniversal Tour Guide and Toon Tales) contain settings for the game that mimic popular movie and RPG genres with animals in place of humans (such as Dungeons & Toons and Crawl of Catchoolu). To see the full listing for Toon, please visit TOONBURG.
Return to the
directory
|
| TOOTH
& CLAW |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
x 5-6 |
Publisher:
Memento Mori Theatrix
Cover Price:
Unknown
Availability:
Currently unavailable for purchase, but you could try contacting the author
to see when it will be available again
Summary: Players
portray various species of dinosaurs during the Mesozoic era.
Complexity: Easy
Dice used: d6s -
at least five or six of them [?]
Supplements: None Review coming soon!
Return to the
directory
|
| WOODLAND
WARRIORS |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher: Beyond Belief Games
Cover Price: $5.00 PDF
Availability: Available at DriveThruRPG
Dice used: Full set of polyhedrals - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20 [?]
Supplements: Greyrock Isle setting ($2.50, available here), Out West setting ($3.00, available here), bundle of all three ($9.00, available here)
Review coming soon!
Return to the
directory
|
 Action!
Adventure! Excitement! Peril! These are all words that should have an
exclamation point after them! If you yearn to have adventures that can
only be described with exclamation points, then you've come to the
right place!
| AGENT
S.E.V.E.N. |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
Deep7
Cover Price: $3.95
Availability:
Available at Deep7's website, deep7.com
Summary: A
mini-RPG about superspies.
Complexity: Medium
Dice
used: d6s [?]
Supplements: None. The Good:
Inexpensive. Great for one-shot adventures
The Bad: Character death is easy (though this could
easily be changed)
Advisory: Cinematic
violence.
1PG games are a series of role-playing
games with one page of rules, a character sheet, and a handful of
scenarios, all at a very affordable price. The games are rules-lite - in fact, the entire rule set fits on a single page.
Buggin' is an RPG about
anthropomorphic bugs that have adventures, and would be a great match
for any young people who enjoy movies like the James Bond series, or even espionage films geared at younger audiences, like the Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks movies.
Find out more about these
mini-RPGs at
the 1PG atlas
entry.
Return to the directory
|
| BLOODE
ISLAND |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
Deep7
Cover Price: $3.95
Availability:
Available at Deep7's website, deep7.com
Summary: A
mini-RPG about pirates.
Complexity: Medium
Dice
used: d6s [?]
Supplements: None. The Good:
Inexpensive. Great for one-shot adventures
The Bad: Character death is easy (though this could
easily be changed)
Advisory: Cinematic
violence.
1PG games are a series of role-playing
games with one page of rules, a character sheet, and a handful of
scenarios, all at a very affordable price. The games are rules-lite - in fact, the entire rule set fits on a single page.
Bloode Island is an RPG about
swashbuckling adventures, and would be a great match
for any young people who enjoy movies like Pirates of the Carribean.
Find out more about these
mini-RPGs at
the 1PG atlas
entry. Return to the directory
|
| DIME
HEROES |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
Deep7
Cover Price: $3.95
Availability:
Available at Deep7's website, deep7.com
Summary: A
mini-RPG about pulp novel adventurers.
Complexity: Medium
Dice
used: d6s [?]
Supplements: Jungle Adventures, Magic & Mysticism, and
The
Aviator's Handbook.
The Good:
Inexpensive. Great for one-shot adventures
The Bad: Character death is easy (though this could
easily be changed)
Advisory: Cinematic
violence.
1PG games are a series of role-playing
games with one page of rules, a character sheet, and a handful of
scenarios, all at a very affordable price. The games are rules-lite - in fact, the entire rule set fits on a single page.
Dime Heroes is an RPG about cliffhanging, strong-jawed hereos from classic pulp books and movies, and would be a great match
for any young people who enjoy movies like the Indiana Jones series.
Deep7
has three mini-supplements for Dime
Heroes that expand the adventure into other areas - Jungle Adventures, Magic
& Mysticism, and The Aviator's Handbook.
Each is available for the paltry sum of $1.95 each.

Find out more about these
mini-RPGs at
the 1PG atlas
entry.
Return to the directory
|
| DISASTER! |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
x 5-6 |
Publisher:
Deep7
Cover Price: $3.95
Availability:
Available at Deep7's website, deep7.com
Summary: A
mini-RPG about disaster survivors.
Complexity: Medium
Dice
used: d6s [?]
Supplements: None. The Good:
Inexpensive. Great for one-shot adventures
The Bad: Character death is easy (though this could
easily be changed)
Advisory: Cinematic
violence.
1PG games are a series of role-playing
games with one page of rules, a character sheet, and a handful of
scenarios, all at a very affordable price. The games are rules-lite - in fact, the entire rule set fits on a single page.
Disaster! is an RPG about
strong-willed characters who must survive extreme situations. Due to
the themes of this RPG, it is recommended for older players. Find out more about these
mini-RPGs at
the 1PG atlas
entry. Return to the directory
|
Sometimes,
you'd much rather go somewhere that you recognize, a place that's
familiar to you instead of a strange new world. Below are some
roleplaying games based on worlds you have likely been to before,
through a big or little screen, or in the pages of a book.
| ADVENTURES IN OZ |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
F. Douglas Wall Publishing
Cover Price:
$6.99 PDF / $14.99 print
Availability: Buy
the PDF here
at DriveThru RPG Supplements: Character pack ($1.99, available here)
Review coming soon!
Return to the directory
|
| BROOMSTIX |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
Memento Mori Theatrix
Cover Price: Free
Availability: Free
at memento-mori.com
- PDF
version - character
sheet
Summary: Possibly
the closest thing we'll ever see to a Harry Potter RPG.
Complexity: Easy
Dice used: One d20, preferably one for each player.
[?]
Supplements: None.
Read the books, watch the movies - THOSE are your supplements!
The Good:
Simple game mechanics. Includes simple rules for playing Quidditch.
The Bad: Very
little background information or spells - but anyone wanting to play
this should have a good knowledge of these things anyway. The
rules-lite, freeform magic system may require an experienced gamemaster
to run it.
Advisory: Fantasy
magic, supernatural themes
The story goes that J.K. Rowling has
refused to give permission to allow anyone to make an official Harry
Potter RPG, for reasons that only she seems to fully
understand. Whether the story is true or not is most anyone's guess,
but the fact remains that no one has released one to date. Broomstix
is an unofficial HP RPG by Jared Sorensen, and
since he would probably find himself chased by a mob of Death Eaters if
he tried to profit from it, he has opted to make it available free of
charge.
Broomstix is a
mostly bare-bones set of rules for roleplaying in the Harry Potter
world. You won't find extensive information on the setting or
characters here, mostly because the books and movies are so accessible.
Characters are made by spending points on three character stats -
Athletics, Knowledge, and Intrigue. A fourth stat, Magic, is determined
by your character's year, so a first-year would have a Magic stat of 1.
Skills are divided by appropriate stats, and a character gets one point
for every point in that stat to spend on those skills. Players then
choose a house for their character, and a Unique Situation - a special
quirk that makes them unique. (For two of their starting points, they
can purchase a second Unique Situation, but that will leave them short
on stats in the end.)
The system is very simple - roll a d20
and add the appropriate stat or skill to the roll. A result of 0 or
less is a Bludge, 1-5 or less is a Flop, 6-10 is a Bumbling Success,
11-19 is a Success, and 20 or over is a Smashing Success. Opposed
actions are resolved by subtracting the opponent's skill modifier from
the final result.
The magic system is limited to magical
duels, and even then, no specific spell results are outlined. Though it
doesn't say it in the rules, it's assumed that any spell that a
character tries to cast will automatically succeed, unless there is
something to oppose it. There are no rules for spells that a character
may not know how to cast very well, or any limitation on what spells a
character would be able to cast. This keeps the game light and
unencumbered, but it also means that it requires an experienced GM to
keep the game fair for everyone.
If you have young people who are
waiting for their Hogwarts letter - and you know the background well
enough to take them there - this is your game.
(See also Redhurst Academy of Magic,
listed above)
Return to the directory
|
| GHOSTBUSTERS |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
x 5
(plus
special die) |
Publisher:
West End Games
Cover Price:
$10.00-$12.00 (used)
Availability:
Long, long out of print - check eBay
for used copies
Summary: Based on
the hit movies - characters investigate
supernatural phenomena and battle ghosts, spirits, and higher powers.
Complexity: Easy
Dice used: Five d6s, plus a special "ghost die" (a d6
with a Ghostbusters logo in place of the 6) [?]
Supplements: A
few, plus an updated edition (Ghostbusters International) and several
supplements for that edition.
The Good:
Lite rule system. Adventures can involve lots of investigation and
research.
The Bad: Last
printing was in the early 90s, so it may be difficult to find.
Advisory:
Supernatural elements. Some mention of gods and demons.
(This entry is based on the original Ghostbusters
RPG released in 1986, not the later version released in the early 90s.
This is only because I do not have access to the newer edition.)
Ghostbusters harkens
back to the day when role-playing games usually came in boxes, and
included extras like cards and dice along with the rulebooks. Because
of its age (it was released around 20 years ago), it may be difficult
to find a copy that includes the dice and extras, let alone the box
itself. But if all that you can dig up are the two rulebooks (the Training
Manual and Operations Manual), you can
still manage to get some ghostbusting done.
The game system is simple - characters
have point values in Brains, Muscle, Moves, and Cool, and one Talent
for each of those four stats ("Brawl" would be a good Muscle Talent,
for example). When a character wants to do something, they roll as many
dice as they have in the appropriate stat - and can add three dice to
the pool if they're using their talent at the time. The dice are added,
and the resulting total must meet or beat the difficulty level (5, 10,
20, or 30, judged by the gamemaster) in order for the action to be a
success.
Every die roll must include the Ghost
Die as one of the dice being rolled. The Ghost Die is a regular d6 with
a Ghostbusters logo in place of the 6. If this logo comes up during any
roll it counts as a zero - and something bad happens, as determined by
the GM. If the roll is a failure and the ghost comes up - something
REALLY bad happens!
(If you can't find a copy of the game
with the dice intact, you can use regular d6s and choose a different
colored d6 to be the Ghost Die, counting it as a zero whenever it comes
up with a 6.)
The back of the Operations
Manual contains 21 random story ideas, a random adventure
generation system, and three different "routines" (with suggestions for
creating more), all of which are great for those times when your
players want to bust some ghosts, but you don't have anything ready for
them.
It is a game well worth tracking down
if your players enjoy Ghostbusters and can't wait
to strap on a proton pack.
Return to the directory
|
| MARVEL SUPER HEROES |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Medium |
| DICE: |
  |
Publisher:
TSR
Cover Price: FREE!
Availability: Free
to download at www.classicmarvelforever.com,
or if you're looking for an original copy, check your local game store
or eBay.
Summary: A
classic 80s superhero RPG
Complexity: Medium
Dice used: d10s, at least two of them, preferably
several pair. [?]
Supplements: Many,
available on the site - magazine articles, too!
The Good:
Lots of well-known super heroes included. System gives a clear idea of
the level of success. Lots of supplemental material available for free
online.
The Bad: Rules can
be a little dense.
Advisory: Comic
book violence.
Marvel Super Heroes
was originally published in the mid 1980s by TSR, the company that was
at that time in charge of Dungeons & Dragons.
Since that time, the Marvel license moved on to other publishers, and
TSR vanished in a flurry of corporate purchases. Because of this, the MSH
RPG will never be republished, but
due to the kindness of its former masters, permission has been granted
to make this RPG available as a PDF - and this is the best part - as
long as no money changes hands whatsoever.
Marvel Super Heroes
lets players take on the role of many of their favorite Marvel
characters, or design one of their own. The game system uses words to
describe a character's abilities (years before Fudge
came along) and a color-coded Action Chart to determine not only if an
action is successful or not, but the degree of
success as well. It's a great visual aid for demonstrating
probabilities, as a player can easily see their potential for failure
and different levels of success every time they attempt an action.
The Advanced rulebook can be a bit of
a difficult read for younger players, so they may need an older gamer
to help them out with it.
With the recent popularity of
superhero movies (and more seem to be on the way each year), Marvel
Super Heroes may be just the thing your young gamers are
looking for.
Return to the directory
|
| MEDDLING
KIDS |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Medium |
| DICE: |
  |
Publisher:
Pandahead Studios
Cover Price: $5.99
Availability: Buy
the PDF here
at DriveThruRPG.
Summary:
A gang of teenagers and one 'wild card' character controlled by the GM
(think Scooby Doo or Captain Caveman)
investigate mysterious happenings most everywhere they go.
Complexity: ???
Dice used: d6s -
at least 3, preferably 3 for each player. [?]
Supplements:
None.
The Good:
Lite rules system. Kids love to play teenagers. Investigation RPGs help
build research and problem-solving skills.
The Bad: Other
than a little bit of book padding, not much to tell.
Advisory: Supernatural themes
Meddling Kids is
a little RPG designed specifically for introducing people to
role-playing. The combination of a simple rule system with a very
familiar setting makes an excellent formula for that sort of thing.
Players take on the roles of teenagers who, along with a 'Wild Card'
character, investigate mysterious happenings, find the culprits, and
bring them to justice.
The 'Wild Card' character can be most
anything from a scaredycat Great Dane to an unfrozen flying caveman to
a talking shark or dune buggy or purple ape. The gamemaster controls
this character, and can use it as a 'nudge' if the players get stuck
for a clue or the story begins to slow down.
The game system is very simple, (3d6 +
stat vs. a target number, for those of you who understand that
shorthand) and encourage creative play. All in all, it's a great little
book to use for an introduction to role-playing for most anyone, kids
and adults alike. If there has to be a negative, it would be the amount
of 'padding' the book seems to have - a chart of every possible target
number complete with a sentence or two on the difficulty it represents,
for example, takes up both sides of a page. Some of that space could
have been better spent or something else, like a list of story seeds,
or something as useful.
Pandahead announced two other games as
future releases in the 'Meddling' series: Meddling Spies
and Meddling Heroes, but the release dates for
both have passed as of this writing, so it's not clear if these will
ever be released.
Return to the directory
|
| MEN IN BLACK |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Medium |
| DICE: |
x 5-8 |
Publisher:
West End Games
Cover Price:
$6.00-$10.00 (used), sometimes bundled with the other MiB RPG products
Availability: Out
of print, but available cheaply on eBay.
Summary: Based on
the popular movie where agents in a secret government agency protect
the planet from dangerous illegal aliens from all over the galaxy.
Complexity: Medium
Dice used: d6s, about 5-8 of them [?]
Supplements: Two,
a Gamemaster screen with Director's Guide, and an Alien Recognition
Guide
The Good:
Semi-lite rule system. Can be found very cheaply on eBay.
The Bad:
Published after the first film, so no information from the second (or
upcoming third) movie is covered. Not much in the way of supplemental
material available
Advisory: Comic
book violence.
Someone needs to keep the Earth safe
from hostile aliens - and keep the friendly aliens safe from
Earthlings. Those someones are the Men In Black.
The official Men In Black RPG
was released almost simultaneously with the first film in 1997. Two
supplements were released shortly after - a Director's Guide
with a gamemaster screen, and Aliens
Recognition Guide Volume One. Sadly, the game never took
off, but because of this, it's very easy to find the game for cheap
online, and sometimes it can be found bundled with the two supplements.
The system works similarly to the Ghostbusters RPG
(also by West End Games) - each attribute and skill has a die rating,
like 2D or 3D+2. When a character attempts to use a skill, they roll
the amount of dice they have in that skill (or attribute, if they have
no dice for it) and add the modifier, if any. The total is compared to
a difficulty number for the task (as determined by the GM) - if the
roll meets or beats it, the character is successful.
Men In Black uses
a clever game mechanic - Cue Cards - that might be worth stealing to
use in other games. Cue cards are cards written up by the gamemaster
before the game that have an action and a reward written on them.
Before the game starts, the set of cards are shuffled and three (or
more or less) are handed out to each player. The actions are things
such as saying a certain catch phrase at a good time, or performing a
certain maneuver. If, during the course of the adventure, a player
performs the action on one of the Cue Cards at an appropriate moment
(or manages to make most of the other players laugh while doing it),
they get the reward at the bottom of the card - anything from getting
to act first in a combat round, to gaining some character points, to
healing wounds.
Men In Black is a
good graduation from the Ghostbusters
RPG - it uses a similar system with a slightly higher level of
complexity, and young people love both of the movie series. You may
even consider cooking up a crossover setting between the two - it
wouldn't be difficult at all to convert one set of rules to the other,
and an MiB/GB crossover would be too cool for
words.
Return to the directory
|
| MOUSE
GUARD |
|
Publisher: Archaia Entertainment LLC
Cover Price: $19.99
Availability: Buy
the PDF here
at DriveThruRPG
Review coming soon!
Return to the
directory
|
| POKEMON JR.
ADVENTURE GAME |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Easy |
| DICE: |
 |
Publisher:
Wizards of the Coast
Cover Price:
$1.00-$5.00
Availability: Out
of print, but available for very cheap when you can find it - check toy
liquidation or department stores.
Summary: A
simple, choose-your-path Pokemon adventure for a gamemaster and one to
six players.
Complexity: Easy
Dice used: One
six-sided die and a 'Pokecoin' (both included)
Supplements: None
The Good:
Quick and easy to play. Requires very little preparation time. Pokemon
contests can be played without the adventure game. All required
components are included in one box.
The Bad: No
further support after the basic set. Limited amount of Pokemon to
collect. Replay value is low once the basic book has been finished
(though, you could create your own adventures and Pokemon for it, if
you were so inclined...)
Advisory: Cartoon
violence.
The Pokemon Jr. Adventure
Game is a great little game that, sadly, didn't go very
far. Packaged in a 4"x6" box, the game includes an adventure book, 26
Pokemon power cards, 48 hit tokens, 2 Pokecoins, and one six-sided die.
One player acts as the Narrator, and reads the adventure aloud to the
other players as they choose their first Pokemon, enter into battles,
capture more Pokemon, and add their own details to the story.
The adventure gives the players many
opportunities to act out in their roles as Pokemon trainers, and to
help develop their environment ("What kinds of animals live in the
forest? What do you see and hear in the forest?"). Once the book is
finished, the adventure is over - no further adventures or expansions
were ever published, despite the number 1 on the box, and the enclosed
checklist of extra Pokemon that are not included in this set.
Replay value is medium to low. It is
possible to play Pokemon battles without a story behind them, but then
you're not really playing an adventure game anymore. Most young people
would not be that interested in playing the adventure over again, but
there are some exceptions. It would be possible to design new
adventures and create more Pokemon to collect using some of the cards
from the Pokemon Collectible Card Game, if a person were so inclined.
The Pokemon Jr. Adventure
Game can still be found in some department stores (usually
in the clearance section), or in any good toy liquidation store. In
either case, you should be able to find it for a very reasonable price.
Return to the directory
|
| SAILOR
MOON |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Medium |
| DICE: |
  |
Publisher:
Guardians of Order
Cover Price:
$10.00-$15.00 (used)
Availability: Out
of print. Check your local game store, Amazon,
or eBay
for a used copy.
Summary: The
official RPG of the popular anime series Sailor Moon, plus
an extensive episode and character guide.
Complexity: Medium
Dice used: d6s, at least two, preferably several pair.
[?]
Supplements: A
couple - Complete Book of Yoma, Vol. 1 (a
collection of different monsters), and a character diary.
The Good:
Characters are popular with girls. System is similar to Big Eyes Small Mouth (see
above), so material from that game can be used with this one, or vice
versa.
The Bad: See
description below.
Advisory:
Supernatural elements. Fantasy magic. The name of one character
attribute contains a minor expletive. Some of the images from Sailor
Moon episodes printed in the book may concern some parents (see more,
below).
The Sailor Moon Role-Playing
Game and Resource Book (the full title) was published by
Guardians of Order in 1998. It contains an easy role-playing rule
system similar to the one found in GoO's multigenre anime RPG Big Eyes Small Mouth (see
above) and their generic rule system Tri-Stat
dX (see below) - so GMs looking to expand on this game could
use some of the source material from BESM (Sailor Moon MECHA,
here we come!)
The Sailor Moon setting is similar to
modern day Japan, but with magical teenagers who battle evil
magic-users and creatures from other dimensions. The book contains a
short section on Japanese life, to help players put themselves into the
role of a Japanese citizen - it's far too short to give a cultural
lesson in Japanese life, but it could be used as an opportunity to
research the subject.
Some of the material in the book bears
mentioning. The name of one character attribute contains a minor
expletive ("_ _ _ _ Healthy!"), but this can easily be changed to
something more appropriate ("Very Healthy," perhaps). Thankfully, the
attribute name does not appear on the character sheet, so this revision
is easy. The end section of the book contains an episode guide for the
show accompanied by images from some of the episodes. Two of these
images may be of concern to those who haven't seen the episodes and
don't know their context. One is of a young girl holding a gun to an
older girl's head, and the other is of the Sailor Scouts trapped on
large crystal crosses.
Sailor Moon could
be a great way to introduce girls to roleplaying, especially if they
are interested in the anime series and movies.
Return to the directory
|
| STAR WARS |
|
If you're interested in roleplaying in
the Star Wars universe, you will need to be
aware that there have been two Star Wars games in
the past. One was first published in 1986 by West End Games, and later
editions and supplements were published well into the 90s. In 2000,
Wizards of the Coast acquired the rights to make the Star
Wars RPG, and released it with a different game system,
along with a handful of sourcebooks. At the present time, it does not
look as if Wizards will be supporting their Star Wars
RPG any longer, which makes it possible for yet another version to pop
up in the future - or possibly even a resurrection of one of the
existing games.
This shouldn't shy you away from
diving in to some good old Stormtrooper-blasting fun, however - you
just need to be aware that there are two different sets of rules from
two different companies, and because of that, you could end up getting
a batch of supplements that are incompatible with the rules that you
own. Even that's not such a tragedy - the best part about Star
Wars is that a lot of the material is based around the
sorts of things that don't have a lot of rules attached to them -
strange aliens, planets, and cultures. So you can use a lot of the
things you'll find in just about any Star Wars
RPG book, and once you've played for a while and become familiar with
the system of your choosing, you'll be able to convert the "crunchy
stuff" - statistics for ships and weapons and such - without too much
hassle.
If you're checking out a Star
Wars RPG book and are confused about which version of the
game it works with, check the back cover for the publisher's name and
logo. West End Games is the publisher for the older version, and
Wizards of the Coast published the newer one. The listings below will
hopefully help you decide which ruleset is right for you.
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Medium |
| DICE: |
x 5-6 |
Publisher:
West End Games
Cover Price:
Availability: Out
of print - check your local game store, Amazon,
or eBay
for used books.
Summary: It's Star
Wars. Do you need more than that?
Complexity: Medium
Dice used: d6 [?]
Supplements: Many,
including hardcover guides for the Empire and the Rebellion, alien and
planet guides, lots of adventure books, a boxed set campaign
(DarkStryder), and even a long-running digest (Star Wars Adventure
Digest) that was packed with fiction, adventures, and new characters,
aliens, weapons, ships, and planets.
The Good:
Supplements are easy to find and usually cheap in game stores or on
eBay.
The Bad: Only
covers the people, aliens, places, and tech from the original trilogy
(for some, this is not seen as a bad thing).
Advisory:
Swashbuckling violence, supernatural themes
WEG's Star Wars
plays very fast and furious. The system uses dice totals for ability
scores, which are then rolled to meet or beat a target number.
'Multitasking' is one of the unique qualities about this system - a
player can announce that their character is performing several actions
in a round, instead of just one. For each additional action over the
first, all action in that round are penalized by one die. So if you
wanted your Smuggler to shoot at two Stormtroopers, then dive into a
garbage compactor, he would roll two fewer dice for each of these
actions as a penalty. If you have enough skill, and the difficulty
numbers are low, you can perform some pretty heroic feats in this
version of the game.
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Complex |
| DICE: |
 
 
  |
Publisher:
Wizards of the Coast
Cover Price: $29.99
Availability: Out
of print. Check your local game store, Amazon,
or eBay
for used or new books.
Summary: Star
Wars with very similar rules to those in Dungeons
& Dragons
Complexity:
Complex
Dice used:
Full set of polyhedrals - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20
[?]
Supplements: A
few, including sourcebooks for Naboo, Coruscant, and Tattooine, plus a
Dark Side sourcebook, Galactic Campaign Guide, Arms & Equipment
Guide, and more.
The Good:
Uses a form of the d20 system found in Dungeons &
Dragons, so experienced players will have a jump on the
rules. Material covers the original trilogy, plus some of the people,
aliens, places, and tech of the first two prequels.
The Bad: The d20
system can be complex, which may not be a good fit for a fast-paced
setting like Star Wars.
Advisory:
Swashbuckling violence, supernatural themes.
Return to the directory
|
| TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES AND OTHER STRANGENESS |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Complex |
| DICE: |
 
 
 |
Publisher:
Palladium
Cover Price:
$10.00-$15.00 (used)
Availability: Out
of print since 2002 - check your game store, Amazon,
or eBay
for a used copy. (Some supplements are available as PDFs -
see below.)
Summary: A
classic RPG from the 1980s that allows players to play the Turtles
themselves, or make their own mutated animal superteam.
Complexity: Complex
Dice used: d4, d6, d8, d10, & d20 [?]
Supplements: Many,
mostly for different settings (Australian, Yucatan, post-apocalypse,
time travel, dimensional travel, etc), plus a couple of adventure
books. Most all include new 'races' of animals (including dinosaurs!)
to use as mutated characters. (See below for links to PDFs.) The system
is compatible with Palladium's
RIFTS RPG, which opens up
a lot of other supplemental material that can be used.
The Good:
Younger kids love to play teenagers. Flexible character creation rules
allow for lots of different kinds of mutated animal characters.
Compatible with RIFTS, which allows a lot of
options and supplemental material.
The Bad: Out of
print for so long that most copies that you find may be in pretty worn
condition.
Advisory:
Kung-fu violence
Based on the original Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles comic books, which were released in the mid-80s, Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness can be played
with the characters from the comic books, or the players can create
their own mutated animal characters (or even human ones, if they really
want) and start their own superteam.
Character creation not only includes
stats and skills, but four human features - Hands, Biped, Speech, and
Looks, each of which can be none, partial, or full. Each modifies the
character based on how closely those features resemble a human's. The
Turtles, as an example, would have full Hands, Biped, and Speech, but
their Looks would be "none."
For a more up-to-date alternative, you
can get Palladium's updated version of After
The Bomb (PDF)
- but make sure it's the 2002
edition with the black cover, which is a full game - not the older
red-cover edition, which was a supplement for the original TMNT
game. The new edition contains the complete set of rules from the
original TMNT, but without the specific
characters from the comic books, and an apocalyptic-style setting.
Whichever path you choose - the
classic 80s book or After the Bomb, you will find
a wealth of material available in Palladium's RIFTS
books, all of which are compatible with both games. And the
supplemental materials for the original TMNT RPG are also
compatible with the newer version. Links to PDF versions of these
classic supplements are below.
After
the Bomb (original TMNT supplement)
ATB
Book 2 - Road Hogs
ATB
Book 3 - Mutants Down Under
ATB
Book 4 - Mutants of the Yucatan
ATB
Book 5 - Mutants in Avalon
ATB
Book 6 - Mutants in Orbit
Adventures
in the Yucatan
Return to the directory
|
| WARRIORS |
|
|
| COMPLEXITY: |
| Medium |
| DICE: |
Diceless
(uses three different types of tokens) |
Publisher:
HarperCollins
Cover Price: FREE!
Availability:
Available at warriorcats.com
Summary: An RPG
based on the popular book series, about intelligent cats and their
adventures.
Dice used:
Diceless, but you will need three different types of tokens
for the players.
Supplements: None (Read the books! They are
your supplements!)
Review coming soon!
Return to the
directory
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