Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game

Last updated
Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game
Publishers Free League Publishing
Publication2023
Genres Tabletop role-playing game, science fiction
Players2-5
Age range16+

Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game based on the Blade Runner film franchise. It was published by Free League Publishing in 2023. The game is set in Los Angeles in the year 2039 and focuses on complex stories with themes of fragile humanity and moral ambiguity. [1] [2] Players typically play blade runners employed by the Los Angeles Police Department. [3] Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game won two ENNIE Awards in 2023: "Best Layout and Design" and "Best Cartography." [4]

Contents

Gameplay

Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game uses a version of Free League Publishing's Year Zero Engine, which also provides the structure for Alien: The Roleplaying Game. [2] The game also includes game mechanics for chase scenes on foot and in various vehicles. Adventures typically follow the form of detective stories. [1]

Publication history

The game was published by Free League Publishing in 2023 after the Swedish company's successful Kickstarter campaign raised SEK 16,513,148. The game reached its initial funding goal in three minutes. [1]

Expansion

An expansion for Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game called Replicant Rebellion was funded on Kickstarter in 2024, raising SEK 4,624,265. In Replicant Rebellion, player characters join an underground organization that fights for the liberty of replicants. [3]


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fate (role-playing game system)</span> Tabletop role-playing game system

Fate is a generic role-playing game system based on the Fudge gaming system. It has no fixed setting, traits, or genre and is customizable. It is designed to offer minimal obstruction to role-playing by assuming players want to make fewer dice rolls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indie role-playing game</span> Aspect of role-playing game publishing

An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published by individuals or small press publishers, in contrast to games published by large corporations. Indie tabletop role-playing game designers participate in various game distribution networks, development communities, and gaming conventions, both in person and online. Indie game designer committees grant annual awards for excellence.

EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News, is a British-owned tabletop role-playing game news and reviews website. The website is run and owned by Russ Morrissey ("Morrus"). It reports current news and provides insight into major product releases before they are officially unveiled. EN World was the original host of the ENNIE Awards.

Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. They are best known for the free indie RPG system Fate, Blades in the Dark, and Thirsty Sword Lesbians, all of which have won multiple awards.

<i>Pathfinder Roleplaying Game</i> Tabletop role-playing game

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) published by Wizards of the Coast under the Open Game License (OGL) and is intended to be backward-compatible with that edition.

<i>The One Ring Roleplaying Game</i> Tabletop RPG set in Tolkiens Middle-earth

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powered by the Apocalypse</span> Design framework for tabletop role-playing games

Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) is a tabletop role-playing game design framework developed by Meguey Baker and Vincent Baker for the 2010 game Apocalypse World and later adapted for hundreds of other indie role-playing games.

<i>Blades in the Dark</i> Tabletop fantasy role-playing game

Blades in the Dark is a tabletop fantasy role-playing game by John Harper, set in a fictional city of Doskvol, inspired by Victorian London and Gothic fiction. The game was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in 2015 and published at the start of 2017.

Russ Morrissey, also known as Morrus is a British reporter, game designer, podcaster, author and owner of EN World. Morrissey founded the ENnie Awards in 2001, which he ran until 2018. He also founded the book publisher EN Publishing, and the tabletop gaming news website EN World, both of which he runs currently.

The Cortex System is a collection of related roleplaying games. Its most recent iteration, Cortex Prime, was designed by Cam Banks and initially published by Fandom Tabletop, then acquired by Dire Wolf Digital. Prior versions appeared in the licensed roleplaying games published by Margaret Weis Productions, where it was used as the house system. Cortex is an adaptable game system focusing on characterization and story development.

<i>Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game</i> 2022 tabletop role-playing game

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game produced by Magpie Games. It is set in the world of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, and takes place in five different time periods. Players take the roles of martial artists, technological experts, or benders – people who can manipulate one of the four classical elements – who fight for balance in the world while also working towards their own goals and struggling with inner balance, represented by opposing ideals held by a character.

<i>Thirsty Sword Lesbians</i> 2021 tabletop role-playing game

Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a narrative-focused tabletop role-playing game that emphasizes telling "melodramatic and queer stories". The game was funded via a 2020 Kickstarter campaign and published by Evil Hat Productions in 2021. It uses a modification of the Powered by the Apocalypse game system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucian Kahn</span> American game designer and musician

Lucian Kahn is an American role-playing game writer/designer and musician based in Brooklyn. His work focuses on LGBT, Jewish, and subcultural themes, typically utilizing satire and farce. His games include Visigoths vs. Mall Goths and If I Were a Lich, Man, and his music includes Schmekel.

Magpie Games is an American tabletop role-playing games publishing company. Their 2021 crowdfunding campaign to fund the publication of Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game raised over five million dollars, breaking the record for Kickstarter's highest earning tabletop role-playing game. Other notable publications include Bluebeard's Bride and a role-playing game adaptation of the board game Root. The publisher has won IndieCade, ENNIE Awards, and Indie Game Developer Network awards.

Bluebeard's Bride is a gothic horror tabletop role-playing game based on the Bluebeard folktale. It was designed and written by Whitney "Strix" Beltrán, Marissa Kelly, and Sarah Richardson, and published by Magpie Games in 2017. Players represent five aspects of a woman's mind as she explores the mansion of her frightening new husband. The game focuses on themes of misogyny and feminism.

Brindlewood Bay is a murder mystery tabletop role-playing game about elderly women amateur detectives, inspired by Murder, She Wrote and H. P. Lovecraft. It was designed by Jason Cordova and was published by Gauntlet Publishing after a 2022 Kickstarter campaign raised $477,518 from 7,748 backers.

Grant Howitt is a tabletop role-playing game designer, publisher, and journalist. He won six ENNIE Awards for his game Heart: The City Beneath. His game Honey Heist, which inspired an online trend of self-published games with one-page rulesets, has been featured on Critical Role, The Adventure Zone, and Friends at the Table. Through his publishing company Rowan, Rook and Decard, Howitt is a co-designer on Kieron Gillen's DIE: The Roleplaying Game.

Vaesen is a horror mystery tabletop role-playing game published by Free League Publishing in 2020, with illustrations by Johan Egerkrans. It draws from mythology and folklore and focuses on monster-hunting. The game has won multiple ENNIE Awards.

Free League Publishing is a game studio and publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden, formed in 2011. The company designs and publishes tabletop role-playing games, board games, and books based on licensed properties and independent works. Their games include Alien: The Roleplaying Game, Vaesen, and Mörk Borg.

Trophy RPG is a psychological horror tabletop role-playing game by Jesse Ross about doomed treasure hunters in the woods. There are two versions of the game: Trophy Dark and Trophy Gold. Trophy Dark is designed for single session play, while Trophy Gold is designed for longer campaigns. Both versions were published by Gauntlet Publishing in 2022 after a successful Kickstarter campaign raised $210,141. Trophy RPG won the silver medal for "Best Game" at the 2023 ENNIE Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nelson, Samantha (2022-12-13). "Blade Runner TTRPG nails Ridley Scott's vision, adds pitch-perfect investigative mechanics". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  2. 1 2 Sridharan, Keerthi (2022-05-03). "Blade Runner tabletop RPG will ask players to grapple with their own humanity". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  3. 1 2 Meehan, Alex (2024-05-20). "New Blade Runner RPG expansion asks how far you'd go for the Replicant Rebellion". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  4. "2023 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2024-09-25.