 Cover art by Jody A. Lee | |
| Designers | Steve Perrin, Steve Henderson, Gordon Monson, Greg Stafford, Lynn Willis |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Chaosium |
| Publication | 1982 |
| Genres | Multi-genre |
| Systems | Basic Role-Playing |
Worlds of Wonder is a multi-genre set of three role-playing games (RPGs) produced by Chaosium in 1982 that all used the Basic Role-Playing set of rules.
Chaosium, like other early RPG publishers, created several games in different genres, each with its own set of rules for character generation, combat, etc. Characters from one game could not be exported to another game without a complete overhaul of abilities, skills, weapons and equipment. In 1980, in an effort to create a standardized rule system, Chaosium published a generic game system called Basic Role-Playing (BRP).
In 1982, Chaosium published Worlds of Wonder, a collection of three RPGs that all used BRP as their rules system. It was the industry's first multi-RPG product that would work with the same set of rules. [1] Characters from one RPG could be shifted to the other RPGs with minimal adjustments.
The game came as a boxed set that contained:
The Basic Role-Playing booklet was a summary of the game system devised by Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis in 1980.
The Magic World booklet, written by Steve Perrin and Gordon Monson, is a fantasy RPG similar to Dungeons & Dragons and RuneQuest. It contains game rules specific to this world such as the use of magic. Initial characters can start as one of four professions (Warriors, Rogues, Sages and Sorcerers) and one of the standard Tolkienesque fantasy races, such as dwarfs, trolls, goblins, and elves. [1]
In most other RPGs to that time, the spellcaster cast a spell and success required the target to fail a saving throw. In Magic World, casting a spell is a skill much like picking a lock or swinging a sword — the spellcaster achieves success with a good skill roll. [1] (This system was later incorporated into the third edition of RuneQuest.)
The last three pages of the booklet contain a sample adventure. [1]
Later in 2012, Chaosium would publish Magic World as a stand alone game.
The Future World booklet, also written by Perrin and Monson, with interior and cover art by Rick Becker, is a science fiction setting similar to Traveller by Game Designers Workshop. Like Traveller, the Chaosium setting employs a large interstellar empire. Characters can start as members of one of six professions (Army, Civilian, Criminal, ICE, Scouts, or Science), and can choose human, several types of aliens (ursinoids, insectoids, and saurians), or a robot as their race. [1]
The booklet ends with a three-page adventure. [1]
The booklet for Superworld was written by Perrin and Steve Henderson, with interior and cover art by Roland Brown. The setting is the modern world, where, similar to the superhero RPGs Villains & Vigilantes and Champions , the player characters have superpowers. During character generation, these powers are bought with Hero Points. Hero Points can also be spent to raise characteristics like strength or dexterity. Additional Hero Points can be gained by taking disabilities like blindness or vulnerability to certain attacks.
The booklet ends with a three-page adventure. [1]
Superworld was the only RPG of the three included with this game to be published as a stand-alone game. However, up against several other well-established competitors, it never gained an audience, and publication was discontinued after only three supplements. [2]
William A. Barton reviewed Worlds of Wonder in The Space Gamer No. 51. [3] Barton commented that "Overall, though its component parts may not be earth-shattering or overly innovative, Worlds of Wonder is still a pretty good buy." [3]
Trevor Graver reviewed Worlds of Wonder for White Dwarf #34, giving it an overall rating of 7 out of 10, and stated that "In summary, Worlds of Wonder is a good buy if your are into swords and sorcery, crimefighting, and space opera (not the game) without starships. Even then, you may feel that Chaosium have only provided the 'bones' of each system, leaving you to wait for the release of more material." [4]
In the August 1982 edition of Different Worlds (Issue #22), C.D. Martin called the games "entry-level", only suitable for beginners due the simplicity of their rules. Of the three included RPGs, Martin thought Superworld was the strongest, commenting, "This one has the greatest staying power." He concluded, "Worlds of Wonder is a superior product. If Chaosium backs it up with prepackaged scenarios, it will be with us for a long time. I highly recommend it." [1]
In the August 1982 edition of Dragon (Issue 64), John Sapienza, more than his contemporaries, realized the implications of developing a cross-genre rules system, commenting, "I believe that WOW represents an attempt to develop a set of basic operating rules that can be applied to any gaming world. I think that Chaosium carried this out with considerable success, although I think there is room for improvement in applying the same rule in parallel situations." Sapienza concluded with a strong recommendation, saying, "I consider this an advancement of the state of the art in game design, and the beginning of a new generation of games, and well worth the attempt. Worlds of Wonder more than a set of minigames, it’s a major game system, and well worth exploring for both the novice and the experienced rolegamer." [5]
In his 1990 book The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games , game critic Rick Swan called this "not only the one of the best introductory RPGs ever published, but it also introduces concepts pertinent to three distinct genres." Swan felt that Super World was the best of the three genres, calling it "an entertaining and exciting introduction to comic-book-hero role-playing." Swan concluded by giving Worlds of Wonder a solid rating of 3 out of 4, saying, ""There are better introductory games available in every genre covered here ... but as a user friendly overview, Worlds of Wonder is an excellent package." [6]
A copy of Worlds of Wonder is held in the collection of the Strong National Museum of Play (object 110.211.5). [7]
Basic Role-Playing (BRP) is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the RuneQuest fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the BRP standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of RuneQuest. Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis are credited as the authors. Chaosium used the percentile skill-based system as the basis for most of their games, including Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and Elfquest.
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos. The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is in its seventh edition, with licensed foreign language editions available as well. Its game system is based on Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (BRP) with additions for the horror genre. These include special rules for sanity and luck.
Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include Call of Cthulhu, based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft, RuneQuest Glorantha, Pendragon, based on Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, and 7th Sea, "swashbuckling and sorcery" set in a fantasy 17th century Europe.
RuneQuest is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first published in 1978 by The Chaosium. Beginning in 1984, publication passed between a number of companies, including Avalon Hill, Mongoose Publishing, and The Design Mechanism, before finally returning to Chaosium in 2016. RuneQuest is notable for its system, designed around percentile dice and an early implementation of skill rules, which became the basis for numerous other games. There have been several editions of the game.
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.
Superworld is a superhero-themed role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1983 that uses the generic Basic Role-Playing rules system. The game began as just one part of the Worlds of Wonder product before being published as a stand-alone game. In competition against other well-established and popular superhero games, Superworld never found an audience, and was discontinued after only three supplements were published for it.
Drakar och Demoner also Known as Dragonbane, is a Swedish fantasy role-playing game first published in 1982 by the game publishing company Äventyrsspel.
A generic or universalrole-playing game system is a role-playing game system designed to be independent of setting and genre. Its rules should, in theory, work the same way for any setting, world, environment or genre in which one would want to play.
Stephen Herbert Perrin was an American game designer and technical writer/editor, best known for creating the tabletop role-playing game RuneQuest for Chaosium.
Pendragon, or King Arthur Pendragon, is a Tabletop role-playing game (RPG) in which players take the role of knights performing chivalric deeds in the tradition of Arthurian legend. It was originally written by Greg Stafford and published by Chaosium, then was acquired by Green Knight Publishing, who in turn passed on the rights to White Wolf Publishing in 2004. White Wolf sold the game to Stewart Wieck in 2009. Wieck formed Nocturnal Media, who updated and reissued the 5th edition originally published by White Wolf. In 2018, it returned to Chaosium.
A role-playing game system, is a set of game mechanics rules used in a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions.
Powers & Perils (P&P) is a fantasy role-playing game published by Avalon Hill in 1984. The highly complex game was Avalon Hill's first foray into the role-playing game market, and proved to be a commercial failure.
Steve Perrin's Quest Rules (SPQR) is a role-playing game system created and sold by Steve Perrin.
Stormbringer is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game published under license by Chaosium. Based on the Elric of Melniboné books by Michael Moorcock, the game takes its name from Elric's sword, Stormbringer. The rules are based on Chaosium's percentile-dice-based Basic Role-Playing system.
Thieves' World is a role-playing game supplement published by Chaosium in 1981, based on the Thieves' World series of novels. It was notable for including rules and statistics allowing for its use with nine different fantasy and science-fiction RPG gaming systems.
Elfquest is a fantasy role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1984 that is based on Wendy and Richard Pini's Elfquest series of comics.
To Challenge Tomorrow is a multi-genre role-playing game published by Ragnarok Enterprises in 1983 that can be adapted to any setting or time period. Reviews were mixed, with some reviewers saying there were some good concepts, while others found too many issues with the rules.
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