This Blade Runner RPG is not about solving the case | RPG Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ธ.ค. 2022
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I love the comments on how the setting feels generic. It’s one of those interesting points to look at in retrospective, as the original Blade Runner predates Neuromancer by a couple of years and was a pinnacle piece of media in establishing the cyberpunk tropes. So when you look back at it, it feel generic, because so much of what has come out since was built atop it. It’s like how Lord of the Rings feels like “generic fantasy”, as it serves as the foundation for a wide swath of the modern fantasy genre.
Yeah.
That’s exactly what I was thinking when he mentioned it feels like a generic cyberpunk setting haha. Great review though.
@@jeffkenamon1806 One of the aspects of Blade Runner I've always liked is that it is held up as being, some would say, the pinnacle of cyberpunk in atmosphere and themes and has a lot of what we now see as cyberpunk tropes. But it has almost no actual cybernetics, which is something many people assume is in all cyberpunk and one of the major tropes of the genre. Hell, I still watch the original movie here and there just as a inspiration for when I'm running my cyberpunk campaign.
It reminds me of when Warhammer online was released and folks were saying how much like World of Warcraft it was.
THANK YOU! That comment absolutely needed. People are spoiled and lack appreciation for what started it all.
Mine just came in the other day, over the past few years free league has truly become a juggernaut with their games, it's amazing to see how they've grown
I’m actually pretty impressed that they started off with such quality even on Day One.
Quick note: Repicants can't be Skimmers (or City Speakers), and Replicants can only be Rookies (been around for only a year).
You're totally correct. I've added an errata in the pinned comment.
I did think it was a bit odd that a Nexus-9 would be a corrupt cop!
16:36 David Holden is the original blade runner, sent to the hospital by the first Nexus 6. Dekkard took over for him and retired six androids in one night.
Free League is going to force me into bankruptcy with all of these books. That Martin Grip art with the top shelf production quality... I can squeeze another one of these onto my bookshelf.
relatable
I know what you mean. It's a real problem.
I think the same... i never going to play... but i want the books.
I finally read "Electric Sheep" 3-4 years ago and had trouble seeing how Scott went from that to "Blade Runner". The elements are there, but they're not obvious.
Scott never wrote the script.
Hampton Fancher and David Peoples wrote it. Fancher was working on it before Ridley was even involved. Fancher also worked on 2049.
@@warpaint9385 thanks for the details. Regardless of who wrote it, the movie's a distant relative of the original story.
ERRATA: Repicants can't be Skimmers (or City Speakers), and Replicants can only be Rookies.
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Re. "Why use A to D for Skills and Attributes?"... It's thematic. The mug-shot of "Roy Batty" at the start of Blade Runner shows him with "Phys" and "Ment" level A.
Nice catch!
I am impressed with the creator's faithfulness, I would like to see them expand on things. Create a setting where you can be on one of the nine colony worlds, take place in LA 2019 or 2049, and maybe fanfic it and have an alternate LA 1989 and say that's when Replicant tech was first started, have a setting based there
Colony supplements would be amazing. All of those ideas are awesome actually.
It says in the book that they are planning suppliments for playing as non bladerunner characters. I am so excited to see where they take this all.
Aliens was such a good horror scifi game for non Xenomorph based games as well, I'm curious if this game would even function in a non police setting
I think it could work, as long as there was some replacement for the LAPD in order to keep the Promotion Points mechanic working. And logical replacement for the Baseline Tests.
You could do a SCP setting with the rules I'd say.
Totally agree this is an obvious labor of love for the writers.
The book doubles as a lore guide. It’s great.
I really do hope they make some more case files. I like to try pre-made scenarios for games before doing my own thing if possible as I feel it helps me understand what I need when building something myself as well as (ideally) helping with understanding what the game can do and the kind of experiences it can offer.
Is it really fair to call the setting generic cyberpunk when this setting invented many of the tropes that defined cyberpunk to begin with?
This has been mentioned a dozen or so times in the comments. The answer is no, it’s not fair. It was an oversight.
That was great. Thanks. I’m playing in a BR one-shot tonite and now looking forward to it even more. I love the 2 movies!
Nice review. I feel it's enough informative, honest, and easy to follow even for a foreign replicant like me.
Thanks, skinjob!
Amusingly, Philip K. Dick once attended a showing of Blade Runner the movie...and told Ridley Scott 'People will think I ripped off your movie with my book!'
Such an interesting evolution of the MYZ engine, especially coming after Twilight:2000 (which is bogged down by combat, hexes, etc. by design). As much as ABCD are clunky translations of the stas/skills, I prefer the 2-dice throw over the dice pools of the earlier games. It's nice to see that carry forward.
Nobody does licensed RPG product like this... from writing to production values to everything. I wish Modiphius cared as much about the work as Free League.
I just wish Fria Ligan didn't spread out so much and developed their products more. Blade Runner is looking at one Case File per year which is atrocious :S and they're always looking for the next IP to launch. Other than that, they're too good... I'm going bankrupt on their products!
Great overview, thanks for putting it together. I have give over elements of the rules, using foundry or role VTT and also put an actual play out on my YT channel, but definitely not to the same production values you achieve here. Chapeau!
It looks like a great starting point. The first RPG that I ran was the Star Wars RPG from West End Games. They went full out. I never felt that I would be out in the cold when it came to books to fill out that setting. But then Star Wars had a galaxy as it's setting. Blade Runner just had Los Angeles.
Waiting for my copy of the book and starter set to arrive (I backed it on Kickstarter). This looks great and some of my friends are excited to play it. Fantastic review as usual.
Awesome, I hope you have a good time with it!
Great synopsis, thanks for the walk through. I backed the KS because the movies were great and I was interested. Hope to play at least once with one of my groups.
Good luck! I hope you find a fun group for it.
Great review and thorough walkthrough!! Thank you!!
Yep, glad you enjoyed it!
i assume by having the tech from the sequel but setting it before the sequel you are still in the setting of the first movie post its events but before the shift to the new era in the sequel movie?
Love the breakdown. The concerns you mentioned both in how much they can actually flesh out the setting, and also in how often I would use this game are the reasons I have hesitated to buy it so far.
I’m currently debating between this and Mothership 1e as a new game to add to my shelf.
I'd think after a while you'd have to at least throw in a few cases here and there that focus on something other than the whole "what it means to be human" or the equality theme, but you could get some decent mileage out of those if you did it right.. Keep the main themes as the overarching theme, but then pepper a campaign with cases that focus on other themes that could pop up in this world that may, or may not, have to deal with replicants at all. I haven't read the book, but an idea of human traffickers using actual people, but passing them off as replicants, comes to mind as a case. A replicant that is a serial killer who murders humans and dissects them like a doctor in a psychopathic and futile attempt to find out what a "soul" is (which replicants are said to lack). A plot that involves tracking down a replicant who murders a group of men, only to find out the men are a hate gang that kills replicants and they killed an innocent human they thought was a replicant, but who was the murderous replicant's friend and now he wants vengeance for what they have done. I think you could run a decent amount of games. It might work best as a filler between other long running games... like a nice break from your D&D campaign... or if your group only gets together here and there. That way it has less of a chance to get stale.
Those are all great concepts for sessions. And I agree that this game is more of an intermittent experience than some sort of main game for a group.
I ran a small case of someone hacking VR headsets and trolling them, another of a orgy leading to a replicant getting stolen by a female admirer. Then another where a memory plant employee gave memories of robbing a bank as saving children. You can get soooooo much mileage out of this game its kinda ridiculous.
@@bulletsunderpressure Those all sound really cool. The orgy sounds like it could be a good one to throw in some comedy.
@@timothyyoung2962 to be honest the trans-teen I ran it for didnt think it was funny. He was mostly annoyed through most of it. :\ Kinda not a fan of running games with just him to be honest.
@@bulletsunderpressure Well all I can say is find out what they like and run those kinds of games, or do not run games for them anymore. Sometimes as a GM you have to know your audience as it were, and maybe they're not your "target audience".
I know you mentioned it in the video but I would love if you could work on a review of the first published case file, I think it’s pretty great.
All they had to do to fill up the information about the setting is to take it from the original Philip K. Dick novel and everything Syd Mead talked about in interviews and elsewhere. Like the ground cars looking the way they do because due to the rush for developing technology for Off-World Colonization, no new designs for cars were created for several years.
awesome video! thanaks a lot!
In my opinion, the world is classic cyberpunk, because this book/movie defined the genre :)
can't wait to get my copy!
Yeah it's definitely foundational cyberpunk.
Great presentation I now know everything that i wanted about this RPG! No space, no stunts, and different modlificators for rolls then in Twinlight 2k. Generally simpler then other interations of their system. What is good thing for this setting I think. But... as I like the movies very much... I don't feel a need to play in this world even a bit. The only one new thing in this book seems to be the chase mechanic. I hope I will have a chance to look into it. But it looked also quite simple I must say. So generally a great work for Bladerunner fans it seems.
One more thing I would like to know: how are adventures i.e. in starter set. Do they really manage this unique atmosphere of the movies?
The starter set scenario's mystery contains all the ELEMENTS needed to invoke the feel of the movies, but it's up to the GM and players to understand and embrace those elements. If you have people at the table who haven't watched the movies or given much thought to the quandaries presented in them, then they will likely play the scenario in a very different way from those who do understand the setting.
Great review! Warm take on the setting though being very generic--as a forever DM/GM, I consider that a positive.
Having a detailed world is great and important but too much detail constrains the players and Game Runner alike--LA is a big place and leaving it as they have gives me wiggle room to create what I need to drive an emotional dagger into the hearts of my PCs. Leaving cultural aspects open is also great since that again, leaves me to build my own and more importantly, allows the players places to make an impact in the world itself.
Another note about their weird design choice concerning giving skills an alphabetical categorization--they likely did this because in the setting, they categorize Replicants' skills in the same way. A thematic choice but I think leaving things as their dice designation would've been better.
They used an identical letter thing in Twilight 2000 2e. I don’t really know why they like it. But to be fair, it would probably only take one session to memorize the translation.
@@DaveThaumavore Hadn't played Twilight 2000, appreciate the heads up on that. And you're likely right--one play session and it's figured out...but that it is still an odd design choice, least with the thematic angle there was some sense to it.
Fantastic review! You couldn 't make it clearer!
Love the transitions like the microfiche reader : )
Excellent review. I was left wondering about one thing; how well do you think the game suits more than one investigator? I get the sense that this games (as the movies) is more about personal journey as well as personal investigations. Having ran investigator games for years I always feel like there are too many cooks in the kitchen.
Great review! One thing that you mentioned was the book saying that 30 million people live in the LA area. Is that accurate to the source material? I got the impression in Bladerunner 2049 that Los Angeles had been largely abandoned with a smattering of unskilled laborers squatting in the places that hadn't gone dark yet. The only reason people still live there is because it's where Wallace Corp. HQ is located...at least, that's what I thought.
The rulebook says 30 million. But hey, maybe in 13 years by 2049 everyone clears out!
@@DaveThaumavore Yeah I thought that one was an oddity. Figure currently LA has a bit over 3 million. You'd think with all the problems, death, and those who could leave leaving the planet that LA would be a much smaller number than 30 million.
@@Acmegamer it probably wasn’t a number that they put too much thought into. It’s more likely there to shock than to actually make logistical sense.
@@Acmegamer I think it's over a much wider sprawl.
I love your videos and this is a very good review, but calling Bladerunner a "generic cyberpunk setting" seems a little backwards. Bladerunner is THE cyberpunk setting and one of the main influences on the genre. The reason it feels generic is because all other cyberpunk settings have it as a core inspiration. Either through P.K. Dick's writing (plotwise) or R. Scott's movies (visually) this is the feel that all cyberpunk stories try to recreate. The fact that this RPG comes out 40 years after the movie and 50-60 years after the story, doesn't mean that all previous cyberpunk iterations precede it. On the contrary, they tried to be it.
Yeah I see what you mean. Still doesn’t make it more interesting.
What's your favorite iteration of the Year Zero engine?
to be honest: I always wanted to DM GURPS Blade Runner: My solution for Human-Replicant mystery is that at start of game I will deal cards (normal 52 cards): I will take 1 or 2 jokers and rest of 2s and i will tell players to not look at them. So when they find photo of them with replicants they will look at cards and figure out by themself what jokers are... maybe they will say oh i am replicant or maybe no i am not or i am not sure...
It's funny, regarding the generic nature of the cyberpunk: The parts of the setting that always spoke to me more than the cyberpunk aesthetic were the implications about its more straightforward sci-fi nature, especially all the stuff Roy talked about in his death speech. But I think embracing those things would actually steal focus away from the blade runner theme of human versus replicant. I think they had to decide between inventing the sci-fi setting implied by the movies and narrowing the focus of play onto something that would delve into the themes. And obviously, they went with the latter, because otherwise you could just play Traveler in a very low tech, small scale setting. I really wonder if there is a way to focus on the meaning of being human themes without having such a restricted game concept as a police department.
Kind of wish they had used the dice pool variant of the YZE honestly. I don’t like the more recent Twilight 2000 approach to dice nearly as much.
Also it seems to me that the only way you’re going to capture the vibe of the movies is to run a campaign with just one player.
I wonder what tabletop RPG I should DM first...
Yesss!!! Thanks for the review 🙂
You bet.
Still waiting for this to hit stores
I cant wait to get my hard copies and get some games going or stream, also the Roll20 versions almost ready and tweaked.
The Foundry module looks great so I assume the Roll20 one will look amazing too.
I've been playing in an online campaign for quite some time and it is amazing. It really captures the source material brilliantly.
4:25 as I wrote before in the comments of the upcoming BR 2033: Labyrinth trailer: my dream would be for a blade runner open world/sandbox game that would allow us to explore LA both street level, under street level, the upper city etc, fly those hovercars or hoverbikes and even go beyond LA, like san francisco or mexico city, can you guys picture a cyberpunk version of mexico city? the idea came to me after I saw a small gameplay of cyberpunk 2077, I thought why not make the same but with a blade runner context, some characters from the film making cameos like that 1997 game... as I said: dream come true
Replicants are not robots!
Played Alien recently and became curious about this game. Just watched Blade Runner: Black Lotus in two days.
Did you have any opinions on the Downtime mechanic? Unlike most other games, players can take it whenever they want (or are forced to). The rules encourage splitting the party, and I'm skeptical to run Downtime as written for that reason. There can be a situation where a player has a Home Event updating their superior on the case, while everyone else ends up on a Spinner battle in the sky or actually advancing the case. Feels a touch unfair to whoever ends up in Downtime?
It’s quite a juggling act now that you mention it.
I would have everyone take downtime at the same time. You’re probably only going to have 2 or 3 players anyway? And make them very short scenes unless they’re going to impact the main story. It’s a chance for some rest and humanity points really, at least that’s how I am going to try it.
@@stevelille54 yeah that’s a good approach. Just herd them a little bit so that it’s not a complete circus.
@@stevelille54 I thought about this, but it needs more work than appears. Two things that I thought about were:
a) The case is on a clock, and events trigger at certain points (in the starter adventure they do anyway, and they are balanced for player count!). Nothing happening in a shift whatsoever is pretty detrimental and would require you to re-jig timings in your adventure. In non-published I imagine you can just do this as you feel?
b) It's a fairly coded-in mechanic. Abilities or specialties that prevent stress etc. (such as 'MARRIED TO THE JOB' - which lets you go an extra shift w/o Downtime) feel a lot weaker. Simultaneous downtime would likely be triggered by the player with the lowest resolve / highest stress, so investing into these abilities has very little practical gain.
This is probably a mountain out of a molehill kind of deal but, given that this isn't standard in a lot of RPGs, the lack of advice for new GMs stood out a lot to me
After having played the game for several months now I feel downtime acts well in the presentation it has. We have a party of approx 5 agents and already during a case they are totally split up. I will start a shift by asking who is doing what and where and then, like in a movie, bounce back and forth as narratively fitting (also lends players time to think if I just hit them with a hard question I can bounce to another player for a bit and come back), Free League's added explanation of the KIA as a narrative cheat tool to metagame REALLY helps give players the permission to add details despite not being "in the moment" which means theres a reason for all of them to keep actively engaged.
This all leads up to downtime as well, as my players strategize their downtimes so that some players are always active in a given shift (like someone keeping watch in a long rest in D&D) in case an emergency pops up. Not ot mention some abilities like "Married to the Job" mean that the requirement to rest is different for everyone. Otherwise it's treated like any other scene. Downtime is a change to recoup, but it's also a chance to gain Humanity points as well as get clues to the case you wouldn't get otherwise and we use this to great narrative effect. The player's noted NPC unwittingly drops a detail that immediately catches everyone's attention, or the player dreams and has an "ah ha" moment. I've found that in practice downtime is no different than a regular scene in terms of helping you solve a case, it's just HOW it helps that's different.
I was wondering if they'd be able to use elements from the 1997 Westwood game - I notice Early Q's nightclub (with its secret speakeasy) and Runciter's animal shop both get mentioned on the pages you show. I wonder if any of the characters are in there too?
Whoa I didn’t know about that game. It seems pretty solidly based on the films. But if Alcon Entertainment owns that game, then they might have looped in a few bits from it.
@@DaveThaumavore It's pretty great. And has nine or ten possible endings. Certain characters (including the main character!) might or might not be replicants or sympathisers on every playthrough. And it just drips atmosphere. Played it for the first time earlier this year and I loved it.
@@colmhoran1663 like with most video games these days, I’ll probably just watch a no-commentary playthrough on TH-cam. Still enjoyable.
Late reply but i only picked this game up over the weekend, and McCoy is mentioned by name though not in detail. Seems the rpg might be treating the Westwood game as canon
This looks like an interesting game to get into. Given the company also made the ALIEN RPG, so it works similarly mechanically but in a different setting.
I got Cy_borg and would love to see Free League do Ghost in the Shell.
Wait maybe Judge Dredd…
I don't know who currently holds the Dredd IP but I did a review of a version somewhat recently by EN Publishing.
Ghost in the Shell is an excellent idea.
That thumbnail is awesome. I wonder what a Japanese produced and directed product would look like when given the treatment of their skill in practical effects and their gorilla warfare style in achieving art.
Oh well. One can imagine, right?
How adaptable is this game to a different world? I have some thoughts about a future earth with some similar themes but much more expansive than just Mega City LA and with more than just replicants (AIs, hackers, possible alien influences, advanced tech/vehicles, etc.). Blade Runner (and the sequel) are my favorite films but it all feels a little confined for long term story telling. Or are there other RPG games better for this?
Is there a way to get blank character sheets?
Not currently.
What about NPC creation? What makes the films amazing are the colorfully cool, odd, unique characters that inhabit the world of Blade Runner, from the noodle bar owner, the club owner sat at the bar, to the bio-engineer who manufactures eyes.
There's one page (p.225) dedicated to Main NPC generating. It's a pretty clever and dense table of tables. Also a smaller table on pp. 221-222 for generating generic NPCs.
Wait, you want to say me that in this "MEGACITY" built ou of skyscrapers lives only 30 million people, in one Moscow with it's post soviet buildings and only 5 skyscrapers lives 13 mil
Great game my group is deciding to play this or Alien.
I keep David Holden as the deputy chief as he is wounded by Leon in the first movie. Not sure why they chanded his name from Dave.
You are correct! I only realized that tidbit after publishing the video.
Lovely design and style to this game but a bit niche for me. I would rather have seen a more generic cyberpunk game. I love MYZ-based systems, so this would be easy to play. This might make a great one-off session but there's not enough variety of character there to keep players in it for a long-haul campaign. If it was expanded to have more of a Neuromancer feel, e.g. with street samurai, deckers, fixers, riggers etc., then it would attract me to buy it as the setting is great for cyberpunk and appears to have depth and flavour to it so that the players can immerse themselves into that world.
i wonder how many times you can play this game if the core of it is so much centered around moral specifically round replicants? And that its maybe not very easy to create your own games from scratch, since it needs to be a very well fleshed out detective story, with alot of hands outs? I wonder about the replay ability over time
I wonder too. It’s almost like a one-time experience that you have and hopefully cherish and then just put on the shelf forever, or until you feel like having that particular flavor of anguish again.
I am relying on the fact that there are lots of talented people out there who seem able to make this stuff! Also I think Free League intend to support this with case files that may link to an overarching storyline.
I would just consider a trope like "The Walking Dead"... are the real monsters how your fellow humans act? I watched Blade Runner: Black Lotus and it game some perspective on how a campaign could unfold.
I wonder who else noticed the Ridley Scott lookalike NPC in the book.
Want!!!
Love both the movies
Another cyberpunk RPG for you: Carbon 2185.
Damn, I was hoping it'd be more based on Phillips book over the movies
That would have be a trip.
It wouldn’t be called Blade Runner is that were the case.
15:44 Young Columbo?
Probably. I’m down with that crossover.
@@DaveThaumavore "Thank you for your hospitality sir, I didn't mean to intrude upon you at this time of night. Nice artwork on the walls, by the way. Owls; such majestic creatures. My wife is crazy for 'em, keeps telling me how she dreams to see one in person.
I thought you might want to be the first person to see the toxicology reports. Turns out, the victim *hadn't* eaten at the noodle shop; they couldn't find any trace of food in there at all. It's like they were...waiting there for the murderer.
Well, I best be going now, I know you got work in the morning. Oh, just *ONE MORE THING* . Funny little thing they found out; wedged in the victim's shoe was, get this, owl droppings. Now, how would a fella like *that* have access to an owl?
I just thought I'd ask you since, well, you seem to know *an awful lot about owls* ."
@@MindOfGenius spot on. That takes me back.
I really think its a strength that it is "generic"
I wonder what would happen if you mixed Blade Runner with Cha'alt...?
Do it 😈
@@eclatshwartzbaumcybertune2063 I will if you will, hoss. 😉
My biggest issue with Bladerunner as an RPG is that throughout all the films and even the book it such a solo adventure. Like it a a detective noir story, the camera rarely breaks away from the solo protagonist unless it's showing you the badguys moving around in the background.
My issue is that like a "team" of bladerunners kinda sucks some of the magic out of it. Now I say that but running maybe 2 or even a solo PC mini campaign would be great! But as it stands a SWAT team of bladerunners just kinda clashes with the tone of the film.
I'm also a little tired of the scifi trope machines be human and vice versa, it's been so thoroughly explored. I guess I'll have to reserve final judgement and play some sessions.
Yeah you do have a point, Eric. I’d be curious to hear your play experience.
for those worrying about being "stuck" in a single locale, I wouldn't worry about that or even try to tweak it. the idea that yours PCs are stuck in one core location even though you might be aware of other distant areas is part of the Blade Runner feel.
Quick correction: There's no mention of Nexus-7 anywhere. The only theorized Nexus-7 is Rachael. So they skipped a generation basically.
Page 144.
@@DaveThaumavore What I meant to say was, in the movies they just skip a generaiton, there's no "known" N-7 because they never went into production. The book kinda aknowledges this lack of information on N-7s. It's implied that Rachael was N-7 because of what transpired between both movies.
i wish they would release a coriolis 2e
Does it need a second edition? I haven’t been keeping up.
@@DaveThaumavore i think it does, some of the concepts just don't fit, and I think its been out long enough to warrant an update.
@@pencilmage I haven’t seen FL revamp any of their games yet. It would be interesting to see them do that.
READ THE NOVEL !
19:37 they were not rushed. You can see detail in the landscapes and scenery art. This was intentional.
You start with C in everything
If investigation has to move forward no matter what and moral conflict is obvious... what is the point of playing? Sounds like railroad one-shot kind of game.
It’s hard to deny that.
You might have mentionned the comic books "Blade Runner 2019" and "B R 2029" for a complete reference.
I don't see the point apart from aesthetics in naming the Base Dice "A", "B", "C", "D", since we don't use the letter grading system here.
I really don’t know why they did this… again. They did this for Twilight 2000 2e as well.
@@DaveThaumavore Imagine that idea applied to Call of Cthulhu. "I got A in Education let roll... (check sheet) that's a 86%."
That tiny gymnastic is useless.
@@Nolinquisitor Agreed. I think if I ran the game, I'd just tell players to use the die type and throw the letters out completely.
I see a lot of people complaining about this and find it very "nit-picky". It's not hard to transform between two scales with only 4 levels.
@@jona826 I see that as "nit-picky" as a designer putting letters because he likes them, especially if it serves no function. I get it, it may looks "cool" but come on...
Any RPG is about what me make out of it. It doesn't matter what creators had in their minds.
"It's a movie classic, just like the first one" thank God, someone that understands EDIT: 3:31 uuuuuuuuuuuuuuh, sweet sweet nod to Asimov there! Now that I think about it, both movies could fit into Asimov timeline for Earth
The year is 2037
Sorry, you lost me. The Nexus units clearly aren't robots. Robots aren't grown in synthetic wombs and can't get pregnant. The whole premise of the second movie is that one of the Nexus units from the first movie did just that, and now the corporation is trying to figure out how it happened, so they can replicate it.
I wanted to like the game so much, but it's 1. Too focused on Blade Runners... the creation of nuanced and skilled NPC's is basically impossible. 2. The Instant Death Mechanic is just Ridiculous... the amount of effort you can put into character creation and you can die, with no saving throw, and with nothing else you can do to mitigate it. Absolutely unacceptable, both from a player and from a GM point of view... I'm just speechless at how such a HORRIBLE game decision got past playtesting... so so disappointing.
Let me guess, you play D&D5E right?
@@isaacfernandes560 Nope 5e is trash. I'm not against deadly rules, but one shot kills with zero mitigation have no place in an RPG. Even old school 1e Slay Living gives you a saving throw. Bladerunner gives you nothing... bad design choice.
@@madquest8 then I have to assume you didn't read the rules carefully. You can't even die of HP damage, you're just reduced to broken. To die you have to be hit with a Critical Success and even then you roll on a table. On that table only 2 or 3 effects are deadly. Combat is lethal yes, but you don't die from a single shot.
@@isaacfernandes560 Wrong. One critical (two successes) is easy to get. After that you have a 1 in 4 chance of death from a powerful handgun. This, in itself, is bad... but the lack of any mitigation (Armour won't stop it, no ability to dodge, no luck points... nothing) make the rules ridiculous LOL.
Maybe a controversial statement, but I've been dissapointed with a lot of these Free League licensed RPGs. The writing lacks imagination. It rarely does the setting justice. They rely on evocative art and the IP to sell itself. This was a problem with the Alien RPG as well. It absolutely is the fault of writers. Sorry, but it's their job to draw you in to the world.
Their year zero system is over-engineered to the point of being obtuse. Letters to represent dice type? Give me a break!
I'm also fed up with the game-ification of trauma and stress in a lot of these indie games. Just roleplay that stuff!
Interesting take. I guess one can’t please everyone. What’s your idea of an ideal RPG that uses a licensed IP?
@@DaveThaumavore The Star Wars D6 rule book is an example of good writing in a licensed product.
@@DaveThaumavore love your channel btw
Indie Games? I wouldn't call Chaosium, Pelgrane Press, Arc Dreaming, or Call of Cthulhu "indie" but you do you. Letters Representing dice types was a nod to the original Blade Runner movie where letters represented how good a Replicant was in physical and mental capacities. You're free to dislike the movie and the setting, but the adaptation was masterful and the game incorporates the movie into the mechanics, including terminology. You're criticism completely missed the point.