Planet of the Apes Roleplaying Game Coming from Magnetic Press

Magnetic Press announced Planet of the Apes The Role-Playing Game based on the classic, long-running science fiction franchise.

The game will use the Magnetic Variant system which is a variation of the D6 System created by West End Games for their licensed RPGs Ghostbusters and Star Wars in the 1980s. From the product announcement:

Become an intellectual Chimpanzee who seeks to better apekind through science and exploration. Choose an Orangutan statesape whose weapons are philosophical debate, political savvy, and the power of the Sacred Scrolls themselves. Perhaps a Gorilla soldier is more your style—honor bound to protect Ape City and lead aggressive expansions into new territories.

What else, if not an ape? Be a time-lost astronaut struggling to grasp a world gone insane. Become a mute tribal human forced to scavenge for resources as you are hunted by murderous gorillas on horseback. The rules even allow you to play mutant survivors who use the power of their minds to turn their enemies against each other.

Your adventures in this world of madness will take you to the ruins of a world destroyed—see what remains of the Statue of Liberty, the ostentatious Ape City, the foreboding Forbidden Zone, and the mysterious mutant undercity. It is a world defined by the stark contrasts of brutality and civility. Are you ape enough to handle the truth about the world you live in or will you lose your mind to it?

The launch lineup announced so far includes the 300+ page core rulebook, The ANSA Files classic film sourcebook, The Forbidden Zone adventure box filled with game-enhancing tools, Ruins of Tomorrow boxed set of 3D resin unpainted miniatures, and additional products that will be unlocked during the pre-order campaign.

The announcement does not say this pre-order campaign will be a crowdfunding campaign, but much of the terminology used heavily implies it. No date has been announced, but there is an email sign-up for notifications on the announcement page.

 

[SpaceOtter]

Eh. Had it been based on the newer (and forthcoming) films I'd have been more interested. The old flicks do present a gameable setting, but I'm in my early 50s and they were old before I reached my teens, so I'm not sure how much nostalgia pull they have for wider audiences. Plus, I think most folks only really remember the first two even then.

And of course they have to promise minis because the WEG D6 System is so well known for its heavily mat-n-minis playstyle... [/end sarcasm] Adding minis to a campaign never goes wrong, does it?

Yeah, I think I will stick with Terra Primate.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

But enough about Krypton. Our story is set on Earth.

What color kryptonite is it that turns Kryptonians into simians again?

Reliably, that is. We all know red K can do anything the writer wants but only once per customer.

 

[Vincent55]

Well i can do this with basically any other system out there, but ok use the one you like good luck.

 

[Reynard]

Well i can do this with basically any other system out there, but ok use the one you like good luck.

Isn't this true of any setting?

 

[Von Ether]

Eh. Had it been based on the newer (and forthcoming) films I'd have been more interested. The old flicks do present a gameable setting, but I'm in my early 50s and they were old before I reached my teens, so I'm not sure how much nostalgia pull they have for wider audiences. Plus, I think most folks only really remember the first two even then.

And of course they have to promise minis because the WEG D6 System is so well known for its heavily mat-n-minis playstyle... [/end sarcasm] Adding minis to a campaign never goes wrong, does it?

Yeah, I think I will stick with Terra Primate.

Just ask CMON. Their board games could be like $20 or more cheaper if they went with cardboard tokens instead of minis that also bloat up the packaging and shipping costs. Adding minis is like gamer catnip regardless of how logical it is to have them.

 

[Von Ether]

Well i can do this with basically any other system out there, but ok use the one you like good luck.

I'd hope it would also be a resource book as well, which is why I would get it. d6 is fine but I do collect generic systems all the time.

 

[aco175]

Come on people, I cannot believe nobody mentioned this yet.

On another note, I may be reading into things, but this has a bit of Hardozee feel to it to me. Substitute wizards genetically manipulating things with scientists and apprentices helping them with assistants.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Just ask CMON. Their board games could be like $20 or more cheaper if they went with cardboard tokens instead of minis that also bloat up the packaging and shipping costs. Adding minis is like gamer catnip regardless of how logical it is to have them.

I think the appeal is partly a generational thing. I started gaming with die-cut counters (by the thousands, sometimes) in old hex-map wargames. Including minis in your board game is an active turnoff to me unless they look like they'd be suitable for painting and use in an actual miniatures rule set, and even then I may balk at having do large numbers of the same sculpt over and over and over again. Sometimes plastic bits will appeal to me (for ex, that edition of Cosmic Encounters with the stackable saucers was cute) but mostly I'd rather save some money and play with cardboard.

 

[Swanosaurus]

I'm not that sure how gameable the new movies would be ... the first two original PotA movies are perfect for RPGs, as far as I am concerned. But the Whole XXX of the Planet of the Apes series - while I generally like it - doesn't present a lot in terms of a gameable setting; though I do not remember them that well ... the first was basically contemporary, right? And the next two ones were more or less "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" done on a higher budget (and probably with a slightly better script).

 

[SpaceOtter]

I'm not that sure how gameable the new movies would be ... the first two original PotA movies are perfect for RPGs, as far as I am concerned. But the Whole XXX of the Planet of the Apes series - while I generally like it - doesn't present a lot in terms of a gameable setting; though I do not remember them that well ... the first was basically contemporary, right? And the next two ones were more or less "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" done on a higher budget (and probably with a slightly better script).

The first flick, you're right but two was apes establishing their community, and three was full-on post-apocalyptic humans vs. apes. And the impending fourth film (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) goes beyond that and has conflicting ape cultures, regressed humans, etc. approaching the setting of the original 1970s films.


Plus, as much as I remember Chuck Heston's "Get your stinking paws off me..." quote, I'm old. More folks these days will recognise, "Apes together, strong."