Age of Ruin is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game (RPG) published by Cutting Edge Games in 1990.
Age of Ruin is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game (RPG) published by Cutting Edge Games in 1990.
This RPG is set in the year 2060, after a plague has killed 80% of the world's population. The plague and severe climate change have caused the survivors to mutate, knowledge of the past has been reduced to word-of-mouth, and the latest generation (the player characters) have no idea of what the world was like in the 20th century. [1]
The player allocates 425 points between eight attributes: Charisma, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Luck, Mind Strength, Quickness, and Strength. The player then gives their character a mutation that has both a benefit and a significant drawback. If the character has a large enough Mind Strength, the player can choose psionic abilities, but each of these comes with a randomly chosen Mental Malady such as a phobia or mania. [1]
From a list of 16 Primary Skills, the player then chooses eight, and then chooses five related Secondary Skills. [1]
An introductory scenario was included in the book. Cutting Edge did not publish any stand-alone adventures.
The chief designer of Age of Ruin was Clay Gibson, with additional material by Joe Fenicle, Jarett Hendricks, Mike Kennison, Frank Russell, and Brian Schrunk, and artwork by Joe Fenicle, Chuck Matheny, and Terell Thomas. The 160-page softcover book was published by Cutting Edge Games in 1990, and included an introductory scenario. [2]
Cutting Edge released one resource for this game system, a 96-page softcover campaign setting called Realm of the Beast, also published in 1990. [3]
Stewart Wieck reviewed the product in the August/September 1990 issue of White Wolf Magazine . [4] He stated that "'Age of Ruin' is a fine game, but it offers little that cannot be found elsewhere. The rules are nicely organized and the interior (artwork included) is attractive. Don't let the cover painting scare you away, because the game is at least worth a look." [4]
In Issue #52 of Challenge , Steve Maggi scorned the crude cover art, commenting, "This game easily ranks as the worst in appearance of those I've seen. The cover picture is atrocious and the choice of colors yields a garish, unprofessional presentation." He was also not impressed by the varying quality of the interior art, nor the layout, which he called "uninspired." However, once he began to read the content, he found a lot to praise. "The combat system is quick and easy, as are skills, psionics and character generation." He concluded, "All in all, I would recommend this game [...] try to look past the art and review it as a fun, easy, post-holocaust-genre game you can play the same day you get it." [1]
The Ringworld science fiction role-playing game was published by Chaosium in 1984, using the Basic Role-Playing system for its rules and Larry Niven's Ringworld novels as a setting.
TWERPS is a minimalist role-playing game (RPG) originally created by Reindeer Games in 1987 and distributed by Gamescience. Presented as a parody of the complicated RPG systems which were prevalent at the time while still being a playable game in its own right, its simple structure and humorous nature gave it unexpected popularity.
Cyberpunk is a tabletop role-playing game in the dystopian science fiction genre, written by Mike Pondsmith and first published by R. Talsorian Games in 1988. It is typically referred to by its second or fourth edition names, Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk Red, in order to distinguish it from the cyberpunk genre after which it is named.
Chill is an investigative and modern horror role-playing game originally published by Pacesetter Ltd in 1984 that captures the feel of 20th-century horror films.
Talislanta is a fantasy role-playing game published by Bard Games in 1987 that forgoes many of the tropes used by popular games of the genre in favor of a unique world and many new game mechanisms. There have been six different English-language editions and several foreign language editions published.
Space Opera is a science-fiction role-playing game created by Edward E. Simbalist, A. Mark Ratner, and Phil McGregor in 1980 for Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU). While the game's system can be used to create any science fiction genre, Space Opera has a default setting focused on creating space opera themed adventures.
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a fantasy role-playing game published by Palladium Books in 1983.
Dark Conspiracy is a near-future horror role-playing game (RPG) originally written by Lester W. Smith and published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1991. Several newer editions have been published.
The End All Be All game system, commonly known as EABA and pronounced "ee-buh", is a role-playing game system from Blacksburg Tactical Research Center (BTRC). It is a generic gaming system designed to adapt to any imaginary gaming environment. It was created by Greg Porter in 2003. The game cites the Hero System, GURPS and Call of Cthulhu as influences in its development.
Prince Valiant: The Story-Telling Game is a licensed role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1989 that is based on Hal Foster's comic strip of the same name.
Ravenloft: Realm of Terror is a boxed set accessory published in 1990 for the Ravenloft campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The One Ring Roleplaying Game is a tabletop role-playing game set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, set at the time between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Designed by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi, the game was initially published by Cubicle 7 in 2011 under the title The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild. Cubicle 7 continued to publish the first edition of the game until 2019. Nepitello and Maggi developed the second edition, which is published by Free League Publishing under the same title, The One Ring Roleplaying Game.
Psi World is a science fiction role-playing game published by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) in 1984 that takes place in a near-future society in which certain individuals have psionic powers.
Expendables is a science fiction role-playing game published by Stellar Games in 1987 in which the players take on the roles of interstellar explorers
Justifiers RPG is a science fiction space adventure role-playing game published by StarChilde in 1988.
Edge-On is an adventure published by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) in 1990 for the near-future science fiction role-playing game Cyberspace.
Legendary Lives Player's Primer is the first of two books published by Marquee Press in 1990 required for the role-playing game Legendary Lives.
Legendary Lives Referee's Rulebook is one of the two books published by Marquee Press in 1990 required for the role-playing game Legendary Lives.
CyberRogues is a supplement published by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) in 1990 for the cyberpunk near-future science fiction role-playing game Cyberspace.
Shields of Power is a fantasy role-playing game published by Shield Maiden in 1990.