Blade Runner: The Next Million Dollar Kickstarter?

Free League's Blade Runner Kickstarter has just launched, and is tearing through stretch goals after funding in just 3 minutes. It looks very likely that this will be the company's second million dollar Kickstarter (following last year's The One Ring campaign, which raised over $2M). It will also be the third million dollar Kickstarter in the last month, following Matt Colville's Flee Mortals!, and Monte Cook Games' Old Gods of Appalachia.

Blade Runner was voted the Most Anticipated TTRPG of 2022 by readers of EN World right here.

Free League's other million dollar Kickstarter, The One Ring, did $521K on the first day and finished with $2M. Compared to the other million dollar campaigns in the last few weeks --

• Flee Mortals! did $788K on the first day.
• Old Gods of Appalachia did $679K on the first day.
• Only one campaign has done $1M+ on day 1, and that was Avatar Legends with $1.15M on the first day.

Check Out These Bladerunner RPG Previews

Free League has shared some previews of its Bladerunner RPG, which comes to Kickstarter next week on May 3rd and looks very likely to be the third million dollar Kickstarter in the last month.

www.enworld.org

BLADE RUNNER – The Roleplaying Game

Walk the neon-noir streets of Los Angeles 2037 in the official BLADE RUNNER RPG from Free League Publishing and Alcon Entertainment.

www.kickstarter.com

 

[overgeeked]

But no need to shoot the messenger with this snipped up response to me. I’m just sharing what the project really is—all you have to do is read what they’ve released.

Too bad FL isn't sharing "what the project really is" on the actual Kickstarter. You referenced some interview where you pulled that from. Looking at the Kickstarter page doesn't reveal what you're saying. So it's not "magical thinking" it's taking FL at their word as presented on the Kickstarter. If that's not what they're actually going to do, then they're misleading backers.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Too bad FL isn't sharing "what the project really is" on the actual Kickstarter. You referenced some interview where you pulled that from. Looking at the Kickstarter page doesn't reveal what you're saying. So it's not "magical thinking" it's taking FL at their word as presented on the Kickstarter. If that's not what they're actually going to do, then they're misleading backers.

The only thing I mentioned that was from the interview was the designer saying explicitly that they don't want to do the secret Replicant trope. But everything else I talked about is from their campaign description and Kickstarter updates, and the lack of the secret Rep aspect is evident in that. They aren't misleading anyone. You're just not looking at what's clearly laid out as the premise of the game, and the specific setting. It's all there. Just stop making assumptions, and read it.

 

[payn]

Thats a major bummer. Hopefully the game isn't too hard to hack and get the secret rep aspect in.

 

[overgeeked]

The only thing I mentioned that was from the interview was the designer saying explicitly that they don't want to do the secret Replicant trope.

Got a link?

But everything else I talked about is from their campaign description and Kickstarter updates, and the lack of the secret Rep aspect is evident in that.

Quote the bit on the Kickstarter where it says they’re not doing secret replicants.

They aren't misleading anyone. You're just not looking at what's clearly laid out as the premise of the game, and the specific setting. It's all there. Just stop making assumptions, and read it.

If it’s so clear you can quote from the Kickstarter where they say what you think they’re saying.

 

[overgeeked]

Thats a major bummer. Hopefully the game isn't too hard to hack and get the secret rep aspect in.

Yeah, it’s a weird assertion to make. You know that franchise you love that centers on this one question…yeah, we’re going to make a game all about that franchise…but not bother with that one central question. For reasons. And further, we’re not going to come out and say that on the Kickstarter…we’re going to hide that in an interview somewhere and hope people don’t notice it.

 

[overgeeked]

So if the major difference between replicants and humans is how health and resolve are calculated and pushed rolls, you could easily fix that. Average the methods for replicant and human in determining health and resolve. And base your pushed rolls on your humanity score. The lower your humanity, the more you function like a replicant. The higher your humanity, the more you function like a human. Pick a spot on the scale where your pushed rolls switch. And done.

 

[payn]

Yeah, it’s a weird assertion to make. You know that franchise you love that centers on this one question…yeah, we’re going to make a game all about that franchise…but not bother with that one central question. For reasons. And further, we’re not going to come out and say that on the Kickstarter…we’re going to hide that in an interview somewhere and hope people don’t notice it.

I do get some of the parts of BR2049 made detecting Reps much easier, which is also a bummer because I think it would be fun conducting a Voight-Kampf test on NPCs.

Either way the materials look great and I look forward to it, even if its seemingly missing a few notes of the BR material.

 

[overgeeked]

I do get some of the parts of BR2049 made detecting Reps much easier, which is also a bummer because I think it would be fun conducting a Voight-Kampf test on NPCs.

Either way the materials look great and I look forward to it, even if its seemingly missing a few notes of the BR material.

Right. Which is another oddity. The FL people have specifically said the VK test has mechanics in the game. With the lore update and easily spotted replicants, there’s no need for that. Unless the extremely edge case of Nexus-8s with a missing right eye.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Got a link?

Quote the bit on the Kickstarter where it says they’re not doing secret replicants.

If it’s so clear you can quote from the Kickstarter where they say what you think they’re saying.

I don't work for FL, and I'm not some sort of master detective that deployed my network of contacts to sleuth this out. Not going to hunt down and provide some detailed source list, especially given that you're still on the attack in such a weird, internet-forums-conditioned way. Go forth and click through updates, drawing your own basic conclusions, or gripe about it on the campaign. I tried to provide context, but I'm done. Good luck.

 

[Fenhorn]

Regarding what you can play. FL have said in interviews that you can play replicant, human but also a human that may be a replicant (the player doesn't know). In Alien RPG they solved this by letting the player use all the rules for being human until it is known that he isn't human. The same could be done here.

Unlike Alien RPG, you can't (as far as I know) play a replicant that hide his nature for the other players but he himself knows it. That would be PvP and that kind of play works better in Alien RPG.