Battlelords of the 23rd Century is a science fiction RPG designed by Lawrence R Sims and first published in 1990 by Optimus Design Systems. They published five editions of the game between 1990 and 1993 before SSDC Inc took over the game in 1999 and brought out a 6th edition of the rules in 2000. Now, in partnership with SSDC, new company 23rd Century Productions is using Kickstarter to fund a new and streamlined 7th edition.
What Is Battlelords
Battlelords is a game set in a dangerous future. An Alliance of Humans and aliens is fighting for survival. The Ak-Nar-Ryn (aka “Arachnids”) have destroyed worlds and decimated populations as they advance into Alliance territory. Against the backdrop of war, players can take the fight to the Ak-Nar-Ryn, become explorers seeking new aliens species for allies and technology or participate in espionage to further the goals of their corporate backers.
There are many core species and each has their specialty and their own story. You can play as a Chatilian so you can read minds and use mental powers. Be the ultimate infiltration specialist as a Mazian transforming to look like a Human, or a tree, or a desk, or pretty much anything else you can think of. If you'd like to go with brute strength, pick a Pythonian and throw someone for distance. Play a cunning and ruthless Phentari and make your enemies suffer. There are 12 different species to choose from!
Give your character depth through the “growing up tables”. Roll well and you could find yourself the owner of a starship or and incredible fortune. Roll poorly and you might be labeled an informant with a contract to end your character’s existence. Expand the story with skill choices to fit your goals and equip your character with arms and armor to keep them safe.
Choose a path through life in a dangerous future. Be a pirate, a mercenary, an adventurer exploring a rift in space, a spy, or a hero. On the right adventure, it could be all of the above. Write your own stories in a big universe of adventures. The possibilities are as limitless as the stars.
The game offers:
· 12 different highly detailed species to choose from as a character.
· An expansive, galaxy spanning setting, with limitless potential.
· Detailed setting information for running a campaign for Alliance soldiers, mercenaries, pirates, spies, and corporate espionage agents
· Pre-made teams, ready to play.
· Armor ranges from light body armor, to mechanized battle armor, to the massive walking tanks called Ultra Armor.
· Each suit of armor is highly customizable, with over a 150 options to choose from.
· Over a dozen weapon systems, and hundreds of weapons to equip your character. Arm yourself with lasers, disintegrators, pulse weapons, grav sheers, grenade launchers, frost guns, and Omega weapons, just to name a few.
Battlelords, Seventh Edition is a full color, gloss hardcover tabletop RPG book. It contains rules for character creation, game play, equipment, sample teams and setting information. This edition will have all of the core rules in one book. The book is estimated to be 360 pages with color artwork in a hardback, lay flat, Smyth sewn binding.
What’s New in the Seventh Edition?
The focus of the new edition is simplifying and standardizing the gameplay without losing the original setting or feel of the game. Some of the highlights are:
· New Standard Species – New species to highlight the diversity of the setting. The revised genetically engineered, human-rabbit hybrid called the Fott. The revised Goola, now winged insects, and a new species the Keen. The Keen are a gliding tree dwelling species with a chameleon's skin.
· Updated combat rules – simpler/faster rules for managing automatic weapon fire, faster hand to hand combat, and simplified armor tracking. All of this results in faster play while simulating the deadly nature of combat in the 23rd century.
· Streamlined skills – standardized skills to simplify game play
· Sample Teams – Prefab teams at varying levels of development for examples of balanced groups for various types of game play.
· Streamlined and clarified core rules that still maintain that Battlelords feel
· Revised armor mechanics that allows for broader customization of armor, in addition to easier tracking of installed armor options.
· Ultra Armor included in the core rules.
· Spacecraft and space combat rules included in the core rules.
· New artwork!! The artwork will all be in full color.
· Updated Equipment. We’ve had 25 years since 1st edition to figure out where technology is headed.
· Revised setting with more information about the Arachnids and a new foe, the promethean Veayan.
Battlelords, Science Fiction RPG revised edition is running on Kickstarter until Thursday 19th October 2017.
“The Company told you it was going to be a mop up operation. Quick and easy. Communications go down on remote frontier worlds all the time, and it should only take a few hours to fix it. Then back on the drop-ship for a boring ride home.
The Zen just got vaporized. The shot ticker on your pulse weapon reads ‘7.’ You’ve got one plasma grenade left, and your helmet HUD shows telltales for 50 unidentified signals closing in on your position. The Ram just charged out of the trench. As he exits the ditch, you can see the Orion has spray painted his armor day-glow orange. The Eridani Swordsaint is meditating. The Phentari is compulsively revving a chainsaw in one set of tentacles and clutching a flamethrower in the other set. The Chatilian empath is whining about how he hasn’t made anyone’s head explode in the last two days, and you have no idea where the Keen scout is because he’s damn near invisible when he changes color. Just another day at the office. Lock-n-Load.”
The Zen just got vaporized. The shot ticker on your pulse weapon reads ‘7.’ You’ve got one plasma grenade left, and your helmet HUD shows telltales for 50 unidentified signals closing in on your position. The Ram just charged out of the trench. As he exits the ditch, you can see the Orion has spray painted his armor day-glow orange. The Eridani Swordsaint is meditating. The Phentari is compulsively revving a chainsaw in one set of tentacles and clutching a flamethrower in the other set. The Chatilian empath is whining about how he hasn’t made anyone’s head explode in the last two days, and you have no idea where the Keen scout is because he’s damn near invisible when he changes color. Just another day at the office. Lock-n-Load.”
What Is Battlelords
Battlelords is a game set in a dangerous future. An Alliance of Humans and aliens is fighting for survival. The Ak-Nar-Ryn (aka “Arachnids”) have destroyed worlds and decimated populations as they advance into Alliance territory. Against the backdrop of war, players can take the fight to the Ak-Nar-Ryn, become explorers seeking new aliens species for allies and technology or participate in espionage to further the goals of their corporate backers.
There are many core species and each has their specialty and their own story. You can play as a Chatilian so you can read minds and use mental powers. Be the ultimate infiltration specialist as a Mazian transforming to look like a Human, or a tree, or a desk, or pretty much anything else you can think of. If you'd like to go with brute strength, pick a Pythonian and throw someone for distance. Play a cunning and ruthless Phentari and make your enemies suffer. There are 12 different species to choose from!
Give your character depth through the “growing up tables”. Roll well and you could find yourself the owner of a starship or and incredible fortune. Roll poorly and you might be labeled an informant with a contract to end your character’s existence. Expand the story with skill choices to fit your goals and equip your character with arms and armor to keep them safe.
Choose a path through life in a dangerous future. Be a pirate, a mercenary, an adventurer exploring a rift in space, a spy, or a hero. On the right adventure, it could be all of the above. Write your own stories in a big universe of adventures. The possibilities are as limitless as the stars.
The game offers:
· 12 different highly detailed species to choose from as a character.
· An expansive, galaxy spanning setting, with limitless potential.
· Detailed setting information for running a campaign for Alliance soldiers, mercenaries, pirates, spies, and corporate espionage agents
· Pre-made teams, ready to play.
· Armor ranges from light body armor, to mechanized battle armor, to the massive walking tanks called Ultra Armor.
· Each suit of armor is highly customizable, with over a 150 options to choose from.
· Over a dozen weapon systems, and hundreds of weapons to equip your character. Arm yourself with lasers, disintegrators, pulse weapons, grav sheers, grenade launchers, frost guns, and Omega weapons, just to name a few.
Battlelords, Seventh Edition is a full color, gloss hardcover tabletop RPG book. It contains rules for character creation, game play, equipment, sample teams and setting information. This edition will have all of the core rules in one book. The book is estimated to be 360 pages with color artwork in a hardback, lay flat, Smyth sewn binding.
What’s New in the Seventh Edition?
The focus of the new edition is simplifying and standardizing the gameplay without losing the original setting or feel of the game. Some of the highlights are:
· New Standard Species – New species to highlight the diversity of the setting. The revised genetically engineered, human-rabbit hybrid called the Fott. The revised Goola, now winged insects, and a new species the Keen. The Keen are a gliding tree dwelling species with a chameleon's skin.
· Updated combat rules – simpler/faster rules for managing automatic weapon fire, faster hand to hand combat, and simplified armor tracking. All of this results in faster play while simulating the deadly nature of combat in the 23rd century.
· Streamlined skills – standardized skills to simplify game play
· Sample Teams – Prefab teams at varying levels of development for examples of balanced groups for various types of game play.
· Streamlined and clarified core rules that still maintain that Battlelords feel
· Revised armor mechanics that allows for broader customization of armor, in addition to easier tracking of installed armor options.
· Ultra Armor included in the core rules.
· Spacecraft and space combat rules included in the core rules.
· New artwork!! The artwork will all be in full color.
· Updated Equipment. We’ve had 25 years since 1st edition to figure out where technology is headed.
· Revised setting with more information about the Arachnids and a new foe, the promethean Veayan.
Battlelords, Science Fiction RPG revised edition is running on Kickstarter until Thursday 19th October 2017.
